Facing Demons
by crazycatbabe
Summary: Sally Sweet's friend Kat needs Steph and Ranger's help escaping her rapist and stalker. Unbeknownst to them, she has ties to a Merry Man's past. While Steph and Ranger try to find Kat's stalker before he kills her, they must also deal with the craziness that surrounds them, including Bridezilla Lula. Babe story. Cupcake warning.
1. Ch 1 - Stalker

_**Disclaimer: All characters that you recognize belong to Janet Evanovich. Not making any money, just writing this story for my own amusement. Couple of OCs will be present in this story.**_

_**Any grammatical errors are my own. If you liked, hated or think the story is boring, please let me know. PMs or reviews are appreciated, especially if you find anything in the story that doesn't make sense.**_

_**Rated M, adults will act like adults. There may be smut, but since I've never written it, I can't guarantee it will be any good.**_

Chapter 1: Prelude

August 17, 2011 2030 CST

Stalker/Rapist POV

Standing outside her window, I gaze intently at my latest prey. She doesn't know I'm here. She doesn't know I exist, not yet anyway. But, I see her. I know her. Her type. She's so disgusted by her own appearance, that she's forced herself into a new mold by defiling her body with tattoos and piercings. She could have been beautiful. She could have been pure, but instead she's allowed others to twist her image into something truly hideous; it is pure blasphemy.

When I saw Katerina Derby at a local art show, I knew I had to have her. She has done so much to her body that I couldn't stop myself from fixating on her. Why would she destroy herself like that? Why would she make herself so repulsive that no man would _ever_ want her? The hair was bad, the piercings worse, but the tattoos? You couldn't even see the skin on her fucking arms for all of her tattoos!

She was in a pair of shorts and fitted tank top when I first past her at the show. I stopped so suddenly, openly gawking at the abhorrence of the view in front of me. I could see the whore's tattoos on display in that tiny shirt she was wearing, and when she turned around I see the ink disfiguring the back of her neck and shoulder blades. Her small body was fucking covered with tattoos, tiny pieces of "art" behind her ears, on her legs, and even on her feet were open for display at the show.

If the tattoos weren't blasphemous enough, she also had more holes in her head than any sane person would ever think to want. Who needs six piercings per ear? Who needs multiple nose piercings? Her lips are pierced too, three times on that full bottom lip of hers and one shimmering stud on the upper left side. And, as I watched her talking to one of her customers, I saw multiple piercings inside her mouth as well. It made me wonder though, once I cut open her plain top, what other piercings I will find? She's defiled every part of her I could see, that I knew…I know that all of her desecrations aren't on display.

Maybe she thought it added to her art, looking like the picturesque artist; but not to me. To me, Katerina was showing how far she had fallen in this world. I know that she's unclean. I know that she will go to Hell if not for me. I have to save her. I have to cleanse her. I have to purify her.

Looking on, I watch as she laughs with her bastards. No, not her bastards, recalling my search on her, they're her nephews. Her brother and their mother are dead; they were killed in a car accident on New Year's Eve. They are with the angels, but they left their children with a sinner.

Now, the boys only have her, and she's corrupting them, with their dyed Mohawks, red for one and green for the other, but Auntie Dearest's hair, of course, is worse. It wasn't bad enough that she's completely ruined her body in modifications; she had to change her hair too. _Couldn't she leave one thing on her body natural, as God intended_.

Her hair looks like a rainbow vomited on it. Pulled back in a messy bun, the blue, purple, and pink strands mix together in a chaotic mess.

I don't need to watch anymore, so I begin making my way towards the back of the house, where Katerina's bedroom is. I climb up onto the balcony adjacent to her window, and I begin working the lock. It's tough. I've never been much for breaking into the homes of the women who've deserved this, but she's special. She's not my usual type.

Although she has defiled her body with tattoos, piercings, and dyed hair, she hasn't modified herself into the Barbie doll that I normally decide to purify. The women who have bleached their hair blonde and surgically increased their bimbo breasts to disgusting sizes always make me see red. I want to make the bitches that change themselves like that scream. I want them to fear life, and I want them to know that death will be coming for them. They have thought themselves God, changing His design. Now their souls are in jeopardy. I will cleanse them. I have to, or Hell will hold their dirty souls.

As I finish working open her bedroom window, I sneak into her room, following the shadows toward the bathroom, making myself comfortable, already knowing her routine. While she may use her bathroom in the morning, Katerina tended to use the boys' bathroom on her way to bed every night after tucking them in. Pathetic. Seven year old boys don't need to be coddled, and yet she does it, every night, without fail, for the past two weeks. _No matter. She won't have to worry about their bedtimes for much longer…she won't have to worry about anything for much longer. After tonight and tomorrow's enjoyments, she'll only have a month. I wonder what her greatest fear is. Is it blood like the last slut? Heights or needles like those before_.

Just thinking about my past women gives me shivers of anticipation. I loved destroying my other girls. Each was as fake as the next, tight and unwilling, eyes shining with tears and fear, and the scent of terror in their sweat, implored me to continue in my cleansing. They all begged for me to stop, but I wouldn't.

The cleansing is a daunting process.

First, they must admit to their sins. I ask them about their whoring ways and their blasphemous changes. Some of the sluts try to hold out; it's never for very long. In the end, they always tell me what I want to know. They know, just as I know, that they are unclean, that their souls are in jeopardy. After they admit their sins, then, I force them to confront their sins, by making them relive the sins, as we act them out, in detail. Finally, I have the whores face their fears. Once they master their fear, their soul is purified.

Knowing what is to come, I listen to Katerina and her nephews' games and laughter, and I know that it will soon come to an end.

While this isn't my first rodeo, I know that sometimes the bitches can scratch and claw me, and I have to be careful. Normally I'm more worried about that, but with this little imp being as tiny as she is, I know I outweigh her by at least eighty pounds, taking her will be easy. Just knowing how tiny she is makes me want her all the more. She's so fragile looking. Like a little doll. _And I'll get to play with her,_ I grin to myself. She may be my most fun yet. My cock twitches at the thought of playing with Katerina, of making her scream, and when the time comes, of watching the light leave her eyes: that final moment when she knows that this is it, will be righteous. Her soul will be saved.

"All right little dudes, time for bed!" I hear Katerina call from somewhere in the house, her voice gravely and low. It is the complete opposite of what I would've normally expected to come out of a woman as small as she. She looks like a child, so you would think she'd sound like one too.

I listen to the two boys groan loudly, neither really giving an outburst to the nine o'clock bedtime, but still making their dissatisfaction known. She just laughs, and then I hear their giggles too, and the quick stomping of all three of them running to the boys' room.

Minutes pass, and soon she turns on the light to her bedroom. Having only seen glimpses of her room from the back yard, I notice the paintings on the walls for the first time. Her art. _How conceited can she be? _It's not even good: it's all dark swirls and angst as the demons that appear from the crevices of her mind dutifully migrate to the canvases like ghouls.

I listen patiently as she finishes her nightly rituals, and then the room is thrown into semi-darkness as she turns off the light. Only a nightlight's dim glow shows the shadows of her movements.

Soon I hear the creaking of her bed. _Finally! For fuck's sake, I thought I'd be waiting forever for this moment_. Checking my watch, covering the glow as best I can, I notice that it's only 10:15. _I'll wait another thirty minutes to make sure she's asleep, and then the fun begins_. I smirk to myself, and silently, I begin stretching, working my muscles to make sure they're loose for what is about to come. After that, I check my gloves, mask, and shoe coverings. Everything is still in place.

Grinning, I make my way out of the bathroom and to the side of Katerina's bed. A slight glow from the nightlight shadows her face. I pounce.


	2. Ch 2 - Sally's POV

_**Disclaimer: All characters that you recognize belong to Janet Evanovich. Not making any money, just writing this story for my own amusement. Couple of OCs will be present in this story.**_

_**Any grammatical errors are my own. If you liked, hated or think the story is boring, please let me know. PMs or reviews are appreciated, especially if you find anything in the story that doesn't make sense.**_

_**Rated M, adults will act like adults. There may be smut, but since I've never written it, I can't guarantee it will be any good.**_

**Chapter 2**

**October 19, 2011 1350 EST**

**Sally's POV**

"Mooner dude! This PuG is fucking us over. Can't heal for shit!" I moan, grabbing another beer out of a nearby cooler. Dougie, Mooner, and I are trying to show Steph how to play an MMO. She started out being here to pick us up; each for forgetting our court dates again. Gotta lay off the fuckin' pot. My goddamn mind is going. But of course, none of us are ready to go, and Steph didn't need to go after anyone else, so here we are, teaching her how to play in a heroic dungeon with one of Mooner's other characters. Account sharing FTW! And she's doing fine, but then, DPS isn't a hard role to master.

"Am I not doing something right?" Steph asks, her face red in concentration or a blush, I'm not sure which.

"Not you Dudette, the healer." Mooner explains for me. Steph nods and goes back to smashing the keys on her keyboard, outputting a decent amount of DPS for a new player. I guess hunters really are a face rolling class.

"FUCK!" Another wipe. "Fucking healer can't keep me alive!" I yell, jumping out of my seat. Just as I'm getting myself more worked up, I hear a ping from my Skype, followed instantly by my computer beginning to ring. Alt tabbing out of the game to check the caller; I feel the smile on my face: it's Kat.

"Holy fuck, chicky, where you fuckin' been!?" I instantly rush my greeting into the headset, as I answer the incoming call. She gives me a small smile.

"Hey Sally, how you be?" She attempts at a joke, but her eyes are dull, and her smile isn't reaching them like normal. Her hair's down in a loose pony tail, and I notice how tired she looks.

"You OK girl?"

"Yar. Planning on getting on the game to check characters. Thought I'd jump on here too." She explains, and as she's about to say something else, two things happen. Mooner's doorbell rings, and Steph lets out an expletive.

"Dude, where were you?" Steph moans, staring at her dead character on her screen. I probably should've told the others I wasn't in the game. Groups normally hate when the tank up and leaves. I just grin at her, and motion for her to come over. Out of the corner of my eye, I notice that Mooner has let Ranger in. I guess he's here to pick up Steph.

"Dudette, meet Kat. Kat this is Steph, a/k/a the Bombshell Bounty Hunter. She's the chick I'm always fucking telling you about." Steph gives a small finger wave, which Kat returns, and then Steph gives me one of her patented 'death' glares. I guess she doesn't appreciate me telling people about her. Women! Steph refocuses her attention back onto Kat.

"How long have you known Sally?" Steph asks Kat, beginning a conversation.

"Umm…couple years. We're in the same guild." Kat mumbles back a quick response, and continues, "look Sally, I was just logging on to talk to you, but I didn't know you'd be at a get together. Can you call me later, I need to talk to you…" she finishes, looking away from the screen, mumbling the last bit. If I didn't know her, I wouldn't be concerned about the mumbling, but I did, and I know that Kat is one of the most outgoing, confident women, I have ever known. She doesn't mumble.

"Hey girl, what's up? Steph's good at keeping a secret, may even be able to help."

"I don't…I can't…can you just please call me later?" She huffs out, flabbergasted and sounding a little annoyed. Again, this is new. Kat's laid back, she's the calm and serene person in the guild. Nothing fazes her. She may look crazy, with the hair and the tattoos and the piercings, but she's not. She's outgoing, but not loud, confident but never really arrogant. She never sounds annoyed. Not even when she's had bad days. Extremely sarcastic, sure, but never annoyed; Kat always finds humor in situations. She never acts the way she's acting.

I realize that I've been silent a little longer than she'd like, and her eyes widen in fear. Ranger has slid up beside Steph, and he's gazing at the screen, his blank face firmly in place.

"Oh! Girl, this is Ranger, Steph's boy…err, umm…what the fuck are you guys?" I finish, looking at them. Steph blushes, Ranger focuses his blank stare at me, arching an eyebrow.

"Umm, look Sally, I gotta go. Call me." And Kat disconnects. Dougie and Mooner look shocked. I know that I must too, because Steph is staring at me for an explanation. And, much to my discomfort, so is Ranger. His piercing stare making me shift like I'm sitting in front of the principal.

"I'll be right back, going to call her back." I say, maneuvering myself out of my seat. I start heading to Mooner's bedroom, but I hear footsteps behind me. Turning, all of them, even Ranger are following me. "Guys, come on…she clearly didn't want everyone to know what's up, so just let me. I'll get the scoop."

"Speakerphone." Ranger barks out, like I'm a fucking soldier in the Army. At first, I just stare at him, but seeing as how I doubt I can scare him into backing off, I just turn back around and make my way to Mooner's room, holding the phone to my ear, as I place the call. As soon as my back is turned, I'm pushed fully into his room, and the phone is out of my hand. Fucking Batman…

"What the fu-"

"…Hello?"

"Kat, hey!"

"Oh, hey Sally. Wasn't expecting you to call RIGHT back. Thought you'd finish out your game…which by the way, you're all still in."

"Did you log? Wanna come heal?" With that question, Ranger gives me a glare that makes me feel like I could probably be pissing myself right about now.

"Err, no, I'm not gonna stay on. Look, can I talk to you?"

"Anytime, girlie, anytime."

"Anyone around?" Ranger turns his head a fraction. Guess he wants me to say no. But, Kat's been a friend for years, and while Ranger has helped save my ass, I have no idea why he wants me to lie. Guess he saw what I saw, and is hearing what I am. Kat sounds and looked terrified.

"Sally?"

"Sorry Kat, umm, Mooner and Dougie are still in the room with Steph and Ranger." Hopefully, my omission of the room being this room, will be OK, I mean, it isn't really a lie, and I think I can get away with this. She's quiet for a ten count, and then I hear her softly clear her throat.

"I need help." Those three words whispered through the phone line, and I hear the heaviness of them, and I can feel the weight of them on my shoulders. Kat never needs help! Not even when she was going through cancer a few years ago, when she had just joined the guild. So, for her to be asking, it has to be serious. Shit, do I even wanna know?

"Anything, girl. You know I got your back." God, I sounded a little like Lula there, but it got the right response. A quick sharp laugh from Kat.

"Are you sure? It's pretty big. Like, I need some serious fucking help." She says somberly, the laughter not lasting nearly long enough.

"Absolutely, what's up?"

…And I wait. Ten seconds…twenty seconds…one minute. Still silence.

"…Kat? Come on girl, what is it?" Still silence. I look down at the phone to make sure the call hasn't been disconnected. It isn't. "Kat, come on please. You're fucking scaring me."

"I'm scared…" Another whisper. None of the confidence in her voice that I'm used to. None of the jokes or upbeat conversations. This Kat isn't my Kat.

"I'll help. No matter what."

She sighs, and then there's another pause of silence. "Two months ago, I was umm…can't say it yet, sorry." Another sigh, "two months ago, I was attacked." At this, Steph makes a sharp intake, but I feel like I can't even breathe.

"Holy fuck! Attacked?! How? Why? Where? Are you OfuckingK?" Trying to cover Steph's response, while also desperately needing her answers. I have to know the details. And at the same time, I don't want to know them at all.

"Umm…answers to how, physically and umm, well…sexually. The why is because of how I look. I don't know the where, umm, I was well, err…taken from my home. It looked like a factory or something, metal walls and concrete floors, but I don't know for sure. There was no noise, no sounds or anything like that to tell me where I was…and well, no…Sally, I'm not OK." Her voice is stronger but shaky as she spits out those sentences, and my heart is breaking for her. Kat raped? Fuck! I don't know how to help with this!

"There's more, Sally."

"More?"

"Yeah. I'm not the first victim or chick that got taken or…umm, attacked. I'm the fourth, and well, during, umm, I had to watch the other videos-"

"Videos?"

"Oh, umm, yeah, he umm recorded it, the abuse and the assault and everything in between."

"Fuck, Kat."

"Yeah…I know…anyway, umm, the others, well, they've all committed suicide, but it's not Sally, and that's why I need help. He fucking killed them. I know it. I just don't have proof. He doesn't give out the videos, but I remember. And I looked up the others, and they're all dead Sally, and he's calling me constantly, and I'm scared. I got a gun, but I'm never safe, and he's always calling, and telling me that he's watching, and I don't know what to do…fuck! Sally, I'm fucking scared all the time. I can't sleep, I can't-"

The more of the story she told, the higher her voice is getting. I'm just listening in horror, as her panic sets in. My friend, has not only been raped, but is now being stalked. And there are others. Or, were others. I look around the room. Steph's mouth is opened in an 'o' shape, tears in her eyes. I know she's remembering. What almost happened to her. Mooner and Dougie look shocked and stoned. Ranger, well, I have no idea what he's actually feeling. His face is blank, neutral.

"Look, nevermind, I don't know why I even logged on today. I'm just…scared, but look, I know, we've never actually met. Sure, we've Skyped for a while, and we game together, but it's not the same as an actual friendship…look, I'm gonna go. I'll be fine." She's babbling, and I realize that I've left Kat hanging too long.

"NO! I'll help!" I look at Ranger and Steph. They both give me nods, well Steph gives me a nod, Ranger kind of tilts his head up slightly. I'm assuming that's a yes. "What do you need? Can you come here with the boys?" Steph's eyes widen even more at that. I realize I'll have a lot to explain once I'm off the phone with Kat, but I just need her to keep talking. I need her to know that I'll help.

"Umm, yeah, can we come up…umm, unless, well, unless it'll be too much of a hassle. And well, we have Cthulhu as well, so if you can't have all four of us, then I'll understand…"

"KAT!" I yell into the phone, trying to get her to quit babbling. This girl is not who I know, but then again, having never even remotely been in her situation; I can imagine that her personality is pretty shot at the moment. "I'll help! We'll help."

"Who's we?" Kat asks, cautiously.

"Ranger, Steph and me. Ranger has a security business here. He can protect you."

"Will you be able to find the fucker who did this? I drew him. Every detail that I could remember, I sketched over and over and over for the past two months. Every scar, every muscle."

"We'll find him. Don't worry Kat. We'll find him. And, we'll keep you safe."


	3. Ch 3 - Ranger's POV

**_Disclaimer: All characters that you recognize belong to Janet Evanovich. Not making any money, just writing this story for my own amusement. Couple of OCs will be present in this story._**

**_Rated M, adults will act like adults. There may be smut, but since I've never written it, I can't guarantee it will be any good._**

* * *

**Chapter 3**

**October 19, 2011 1450 EST  
**

**Ranger's POV**

Listening to Kat on the phone with Sally and watching his interactions and mannerisms with her, I couldn't help but allow my eyes to roam over to Stephanie. Her face, unable to mask her concerns for this stranger, and I know, as I watch her square her shoulders, that we will be helping this Katerina Derby. I also know that I owe Sally this help. After all, Stephanie would have faced a similar (but much worse fate), if it wasn't for him. The Slayers would have raped her, and I can only imagine the destruction of her soul if it had happened to her, and I thank God every day that Sally was able to get there in time, to save her from the defilement of rape.

"We'll find him. Don't worry Kat. We'll find him." Sally pledges, and with that Kat whispers a thank-you, her voice gravely with a constricted throat, no doubt silently crying on her end of the line. I listen as she disconnects, and then, I whip out my phone. I can do action. I can't do women crying. I can't help her emotionally. Unlike Steph, I've seen too much, know too much, and while the story is sad, I've heard worse…Fuck, I've seen worse.

"Bossman!" Lester answers his phone, enthusiastically. I feel the need to roll my eyes, but I refrain. If Steph saw me do it, she'd never let me live it down.

"Core team meeting in ten. Bringing Steph and Sally with me." And I disconnect. I know he'll follow my order, so there's no need to stay on the line. I look over at Steph, as she rolls her eyes at my phone manners, or in her opinion, my lackthereof. I give her a smirk, and make my next call to Hector

"Boss?"

"I need you to bug a line." No nonsense with Hector, like all of my employees, his following of my orders is a given. No need to ask, no need to say please. He'll follow it, unequivocally. Grabbing Sally's cell phone, I look at his last outgoing call and give the number to Hector. "Core team is meeting in ten. Need to meet with you in an hour, get your team ready." I order, then again, I disconnect.

"Let's go." I command Sally and Steph, already heading for the door. Steph doesn't budge. "Babe, please." She grins and grabs my hand, and we head out to the Turbo.

"Going to be a little crowded." I hear Steph murmur. I'm guessing she didn't mean to say it aloud. But she's right. If I knew I'd be taking Sally with us, I wouldn't have brought it. Way to be prepared Ric.

Needing to get into my zone, I begin thinking about how we will be helping Kat. She needs a place to stay, while we're tracking down her rapist. We need to know if and how he killed his other victims. We need to know why she thinks he did, and if he did, did he kill them all the same way. Is there a pattern. Where were his victims from, are they all from her area? Making mental notes of questions to ask when we get to the meeting, I know that I also need to check with Ella about getting another apartment ready for her. Clearly she has children, so a two bedroom will have to work. Not knowing much yet about the rapist, I'm a little hesitant to have her in a safe house, but if a two bedroom doesn't work, that'll need to be my next step.

"Sally, how many kids does she have?" I ask. At least with sleeping arrangements, I will be able to get a quick answer, as long as Sally knows it. I stare at him through the rearview mirror, and he flinches coming out of his own 'zone'.

"Err, technically none. They're her nephews."

"Can they stay with their parents?"

"Nah man, their parents died about a year ago. She's the guardian. Two boys, twins…umm….seven years old I think. Know their names, umm Zeke and Ezra." He explains. So a two bedroom, with twin beds should be fine. I pull out my phone.

"Favorite nephew." Ella answers in upbeatedly, almost singing the words. I've noticed she's been doing that for the last six months. Ever since Steph and I got together, she's been extremely happy with me. I guess it's always a good thing to have at least one family member in your corner.

"Going to need an apartment set up for new arrivals."

"Oh. I didn't know you've hired anyone recently." Only a family member would question me.

"Friend of Sally's will be staying at Haywood with her two nephews."

"Food preference?"

"Not yet. Having a meeting in five, and I'll tell you more this evening when you bring dinner to Seven." With that I hang up.

Pulling into the garage, I see Bobby and Lester just getting back from their post. I know that they were on a stakeout for a skip, but this trumps it, and I know that they've handled a replacement detail.

"Tank?"

"With Lula. Man that guy is so whipped. You know he's wearing pink to the wedding? Pink." Lester grins and barks out a laugh. Pulling out my phone again, to call in Tank for the meeting, Steph puts a hand on mine.

"I think we can do this without him. Give him cliff notes later. He won't be handling anything until the actual apprehension of this bastard anyway." I know she's right, but when I call a team meeting, especially a core team meeting, I should assume that all of my core team will be there. As I'm thinking about calling Tank to the mats the very next time I see him, I get a text from him. Bomber duty? I gently remove my hand and phone from Steph's and call Tank quickly.

"Ranger?"

"Yo, friend of Sally's needs help. Fill you in after mats tomorrow at 0500." Then, I disconnect. I look over at Steph, she's rolling her eyes at me. Again.

"Those are going to get stuck up there." I whisper in her ears, as we, and Sally, make our way to the elevator. Bobby and Lester give me a nod, and take the stairs.

As the elevator doors open, I catch a glimpse of Bobby entering my office. Perfect. Navigating Sally towards my door, I grin to myself as every one of my employees do a double take. Sally, while not in full drag, is wearing makeup and a skirt with heels that even Steph, I don't think would wear. His 'Metallica' t-shirt adds to the ridiculousness of his outfit.

"What's up Boss?" Lester asks as I shut the door to my office. Steph and Sally plop down, ungracefully onto the couch, and Bobby and Lester each take a guest chair. I take my seat behind my desk, grabbing a legal pad to begin jotting down what we know.

"A friend of Sally's was raped two months ago. She's now being stalked by the rapist. Also explained that there were three other victims, but that they've all been killed. Either, it looked like a suicide, or he's forced them to commit suicide. Unclear on that. She'll be coming up to stay, with her nephews and…Sally, what's Cthulhu?" I focus my gaze onto him.

Sally grins, and looks around the room at his captive audience, "her pet octopus." Now, normally, I'm not surprised. But hearing that that terrified woman on Skype has a pet octopus, well, I know that my blank face dropped for the briefest of seconds hearing that. Looking over at Steph, her broad cat ate the canary grin tells me that she saw the surprise. Luckily, it's only her that seems to notice it. Looking at two of my core team, I see that they have completely dropped their own blank faces, and are staring at Sally with such dumbfounded expressions, that I feel I have to get everyone back on track before Lester makes any offensive jokes.

"Okay. She'll be coming up here with two nephews and her pet octopus." I reiterate. "We'll need to coordinate with her on when we can send the jet to get them. Sooner rather than later is necessary. Time isn't on our side. He's been stalking her, I'm assuming since the attack, but we'll need confirmation on that. I'm having Hector bug her phone and get us phone records for the time being. Sally, can you call her back? I think we need her in on this meeting. She needs to tell us everything she can." Sally nods to me, and pulls out his cell phone. Hesitating, he looks back at me.

"Can we do Skype instead?" Nodding, I grab my laptop, and walk it over to him. Sally inputs his information instead of mine and calls her. After a couple of rings, her upper body fills the laptop's screen.

"Hey Sally." She looks tired and drained. The earlier call must have been draining for her.

"Hey Kit Kat. Look girl, I'm meeting with Ranger, Steph, and two members of his core team. They need to know more. Gonna hand the laptop over the Ranger, okay?" She doesn't answer him, but I see the barest shrug of her shoulders, and then she lifts her chin fractionally. Gaining her courage, she nods. Remembering my internal questions from the car ride over, I jump right into a conversation with her, placing the laptop at the lip of my desk, rolling my desk chair in front of it. Now, I'm centered with Bobby and Lester on either side in the guest chairs. Behind us, just in view are both Sally and Steph.

"You said that he's killed the other three girls. How do you know?" I watch her facial expressions for anything that would indicate that she isn't telling the truth, as she begins telling her story.

"I told you that he videotaped us, right?" I nod, and she continues, "well, during the attack, he asked us things. Things like what our first time was like, and when we answered, he made us go into detail…then, he mimicked it…" she exhales a breath, and I hear and see her tears coming to her eyes, her throat once again constricting with emotions, as she remembers the attack. "That was his first question…but, while waiting for you to answer, you're watching…I was watching the other girls' answers, and what happened…what happened next. I saw their first rapes, before mine was about to begin. I mean, do you have any idea what type of sick fuck would do that? So, I got headstrong. I didn't answer him. Not any of his questions. All the while, I'm watching the other girls answer their questions. Over and over. He kept getting meaner to me, and finally, he said that it didn't matter if I was going to be a mute. He'd still be in me soon. That's when he left for the first time." She exhales another long breath.

"…but when he came back…he brought things. Toys he called them. After he brought those in, I answered all of his questions."

"But, what does that have to do with the deaths?" I prompt her. I feel that we're getting off track of the initial question. She barks a sarcastic laugh at me. Everyone in my office inhales sharply, excluding me.

"It has everything to do with the deaths, Ranger. Everything!" She exclaims, as if I should just know what she means. After a couple of minutes of silence, as Kat reigns in her aggravation, she continues, "one of his questions…he asks us about our desires and hopes and dreams. And, he asks us about our fears…the first girl, Erica, she was afraid of blood. She committed suicide by slitting her wrists." Kat sarcastically adds, "if you're afraid of blood, why slit your wrists to whack yourself off? Why not hang yourself? Or OD? Why slit your wrists?" She lets that hang for us all to catch on, and I know she's right.

"The second girl, Natasha, she jumped off a bridge…wanna guess what she was afraid of?" Kat's gaining even more courage, her ice blue eyes staring intently into my dark, blank gaze. "Heights of course, and the last girl, Cassie, she was afraid of needles. She OD'd on fucking heroin." Kat quiets herself, tears running down her cheeks.

"And you…?" Steph speaks up from her spot on the couch. I'm not sure if Kat hears her though, so, I ask the question again for Steph. Kat's eyes focus on me, and then Steph in the background.

"I'm claustrophobic and I'm afraid of the dark…he's going to bury me alive. It won't look like a…it won't look like a suicide, it'll just look like I ran away. Disappeared."


	4. Ch 4 - Steph's POV

**_Disclaimer: All characters that you recognize belong to Janet Evanovich. Not making any money, just writing this story for my own amusement. Couple of OCs will be present in this story._**

**_Rated M, adults will act like adults. There may be smut, but since I've never written it, I can't guarantee it will be any good._**

**_Also, there may be spoilers from the actual novels, sorry for not warning sooner._**

* * *

**Chapter 4**

**October 19, 2011 1600 EST  
**

**Steph's POV**

Hearing the fear interlacing Kat's gravely voice throughout the entire conversation, has my resolution to help her working overtime. I can't stop the traitor tears that are leaking from my eyes, as I realize how that could've been me. Her story, while different than Lula's, still has me thinking about finding Lula tied up on my fire escape by Ramirez for the world to see and for me to see. At the time, the nightmares that engulfed my subconscious, put me in her place, and it felt so real. Remembering those nightmares now, causes me to shiver slightly. The terror Lula must've felt, is the fear I'm sure Kat is currently feeling. Knowing that your rapist is still at large and taunting you, I can't even imagine.

I get out of my seat next to Sally, stepping forward closer to Ranger, so that I'm more in view for Kat. She's silently pulling herself together, and I can actually see her physically calming down. The only other person I've seen do something similar, is Ranger. She's walling away the emotions, I'm guessing to get through whatever else we may need from her.

"Kat," I begin, in the most gentle and understanding voice I can muster, "hey, we're not going to let him do that. Ranger is the best at what he does. The best! We will keep you safe. We will catch this guy!" Maybe I shouldn't give her false hope that we'll catch this bastard, but I know me and I know Ranger and the Merry Men, and I know that we won't stop. We won't give up. This guy doesn't know it, but his days as a free man are numbered.

"Kat, can you tell us if the other victims were from around you?" Ranger questions, making me give him my best death glare. He should realize that she needs some more time, that maybe we should stop the meeting for now, and just get her here. We can pester her for details once she's safe at Haywood. Looking back at her, I realize that maybe I'm the one mistaken. Kat looks almost completely in control again, although the fear is still smoldering at the surface of her eyes.

"Umm, yeah when I was looking up the others, I found out where they lived. Cassie lived with her fiancé in Chicago. Natasha was from just outside of D.C., and Erica was from Baltimore."

"And you live in St. Louis?"

"Well, I actually live Ladue, a little burb near St. Louis…" Kat then adds, "it was my brother's home."

"You live alone?"

"With my nephews. But lately, their grandfather, umm, Morgan, err, that's my sister-in-law's father, or was her father, umm, he's been coming over when they get home from school and staying until about 8. So, I can sleep."

Ranger looks at her thoughtfully for a minute, and then gestures to me to start asking any questions I may have. Yay! I have at least basic ESP! I give Kat a small smile.

"Any husband, fiancé, or boyfriend that will need to come up here too?" I ask. She gives me a small smile, and shakes her head no. I look at her for a moment, almost thinking it a blessing that she doesn't have a significant other in her life at the moment. It would probably make it emotionally easier to deal with, but the lack of intimacy, or forcing herself into intimate situations too quickly, could probably make it harder for her to heal from this experience.

"I really think we should get you out of there sooner, rather than later. It's Friday. Any chance we can come get you over the weekend?" Raking my eyes over to Ranger for confirmation, he gives me a barely there smirk, silently supporting my decision to get her out as soon as we can.

"Couldn't I just drive myself?" Ah, wants to control the situation in any way she can. Even though I understand and respect the need to do things on my own, hell, I've run off enough in the past couple of years to prove that my independent streak is a little too independent at times, but even I can see what a tragedy it could be to leave her alone for much longer.

"I just don't think that's a good idea. You say he's calling you constantly, checking up on you. Watching you. If you were to try and come on your own, he may follow, and then, I just don't know if we could protect you. I really think you should let us come get you and your nephews. What are their names?" I add in the nephews, hopefully applying some guilt and pressure to get her to let us come to her.

Kat gives me a wide, sincere smile. One of the first ones I've seen so far and it's breathtaking. I'm not about to go swing for the same team or anything, but her smile lit up her entire face, almost literally. Her pale blue eyes dancing with hidden amusement and devotion at the mention of her nephews, and her face, earlier so filled with worry and strain from the events that have been happening to her, have all but disappeared, and I realize that she's really a striking woman. The hair and piercings may be disruptive, but when she smiles, those distractions vanish.

"Ezra and Ezekiel-Zeke for short."

"You should let us come get you." I reiterate. She regards at me for a second, and then looks around the room, her eyes focusing on Bobby and Lester for a moment and ending on Sally's in the background. I look at where she's looking, and I see him nod to her, and grin widely. I hear her sigh, and I refocus my attention back to her, waiting for her response.

"So…Sunday?" She asks hesitantly. Ranger takes over quickly.

"Lester Santos," he begins, nodding his head in Lester's direction, "will be flying the jet, and I think we should leave tonight to get to you by tomorrow, early morning. We'll provide a security detail for you, while Steph and you pack for you and the boys." I give the love of my life another death glare.

"Assuming I'll pack, just cause I'm a woman. Damn man knows I can handle security detail just as well as any of the Merry Men. Luckily he's good in the sack, or that chauvinistic comment would be landing him in the dog house for a while." I think to myself, and Kat cracks another genuine smile and chuckles. Guess I didn't think that. Ranger gives me a wolf grin, and I feel myself go red with embarrassment.

"I can handle packing. It's 3 here now. I better let the boys know. Mitch, oh! That's Morgan's dad, anyway, he's here for another couple of hours, so I'll have him start with the boys' room, and I'll rest until 8 or 9. I'm a night owl, so I should be able to pack up what we'll need…wait…how much should I pack?" Staring at me, I shrug, and she then focuses her attention back onto Ranger.

"You'll be staying in one of the two bedroom apartments here in my building. While it may be completely secure, we don't know much of anything yet regarding your stalker, so you should pack assuming you'll be here a while, maybe months." He finishes, and Kat's eyes go wide.

"Months? Man, the boys are going to be so pissed at me. Fuck, how am I going to explain this…what about their friends, school and their lives here?"

"What about yours?" Ranger counters. Kat hesitates at his response for an instant, and then nods, yielding to his point. While her nephews may be annoyed with her rash decision, Kat's life is on the line, and we can't give them the time they'll need for goodbyes. Continuing, Ranger looks around the room for a moment, catching all of our eyes, and then focuses his attention back onto Kat, "we'll be there by 0300. Plan on us being wheels up from St. Louis by Sunday evening at the latest." Kat nods again.

"Girl, you're doing the right thing. We'll see you soon." Sally calls out to her from his spot on the couch. Bobby and Lester both nod and smile their goodbyes, and Kat gives another small smile to us all.

"Thank you, thank you for all of your help. I just don't know what I would do if you hadn't agreed to help…it feels like part of this mess is already behind me." And with that and a finger wave, she disconnects the call.

I look around the room, and Ranger, Bobby, and Lester are tense, silently communicating with each other. "ESPmen at your disservice. Keeping secrets since 1979."They all turn and look at me; once again, I guess I'm not as quietly thinking as I was hoping I was. However, since I do this regularly, I just roll my eyes at the three of them.

"Babe. Can you stop by Vinnie's to let Connie know that we'll be offline until Monday? Grab any files we may have too." Ranger asks, pulling me to him, lowering his head slightly, and his lips are now to my ear, making my response hitch to a stop at the back of my throat. "And Babe, you'll be paying for that later." Oh boy.

Making my way out of his office, grinning stupidly to myself, as my hormones begin to run rampage throughout my body, I make my way back towards the elevator. Looking back towards Ranger's office, I see Hector, Zero, Brett and Bones making their way into the doorway. Giving the camera a brief finger wave for the men on monitors; I step the rest of the way into the elevator and head to the garage.

Spying the available vehicles, I pull out Ranger's key to the Turbo, and skip my way over to it. Getting to drive the Porsche always gives me a strong dose of stupid happy. Once in, I throw my behemoth of a purse next to me in the passenger seat, and I take a relaxing moment to feel the marvelous leather seats underneath me. I swear, even if I wasn't with Ranger, I would have fallen in love with him just for these seats. Not even the whole Porsche, he could keep the car, I just want the seats. Well, being completely honest with myself, I want the man who owns the seats, and I have him. Damn, I'm lucky! I smile to myself, checking myself in the mirror, I see the slight flush of my cheeks, from Ranger's early flirtations.

Still grinning and doing a quick repair job on my makeup, I pull out of the garage, contemplating briefly about going to the Tasty Pastry for myself, Connie, and Lula. If I do, I'll have to do an extra work out. I groan inwardly. Ever since Ranger and I began seeing each other six months back, I have been a good bounty hunter, partner, and girlfriend. Carrying my gun, exercising, and learning a little bit more about RangeMan, I now handle all of the searches and am head of the department. Well, I tend to divvy up the searches with Zip, Manny, and Hal, my Merry Men Minions in the department at RangeMan. Luckily, they all enjoy doing searches, and with the four of us working together on the searches, I still have the time to skip trace. Life is excellent. Well, that's what I was thinking, before pulling into the parking lot in front of Vinnie's. Of course, Joyce just had to be here.

Stepping out of the Turbo, I make my way to the front door. Connie and Lula are waiting impatiently for me, due to the fact that I hadn't been in yet this week.

"Ladies." I mimic Ranger and crack a smile.

"Ooo, skinny white girl, you looking good! Where you-" Lula speaks first, looking like she may be hitting an oxygen reducing stride in her rhino mode that's beginning to rear its ugly head, I cut her off with my own version of my 'Ranger Glare'.

"Sorry Lula, I just came in for files and to let Connie know that Ranger and I will be offline until Monday. And, I'm sorry girls, but I really have to get back to the office, so if I could just get those-"

"What, can't leave your Master even for a bit." I hear the barnyard animal interrupt me to my left, just outside Vinnie's door. Forcing myself to look at Joyce, I see her sneering at me, a wicked gleam in her eyes. "Wishing you still had Joe? Ranger may be nice to look at, but the Italian Stallion really is where the action's at." I give her a ten count, staring at her, working to remove all of my emotions off of my face. It must be intimidating, because Joyce backs up a bit. I silently applaud myself.

Turning my focus back to Connie, she has a few files in her hand for me. "The top three are yours, bottom two go to Ranger. None of them are due back for a bit, but the ones you have out now need to be brought in by the end of next week." She reminds me, and with that I take the files and make my way back to the Turbo.

Unfortunately for me, Joe Morelli is leaning up against it on the driver's side. Ugh, just not my day…I grimace to myself and tense up. Joe stares me up and down, openly leering at me. I used to think he was handsome. I used to think he was charming. I used to think a lot of things about Joe Morelli, but after our last blow up as a couple nine months ago, I don't think much of him, other than my distaste and contempt for the man he's become. During the past year, Joe has slowly become a lot like his old man. And when he chose to slap me during our last fight, I walked out, and I haven't looked back.

"Cupcake." I roll my eyes at the greeting.

"Morelli," I start, "get away from my car." His leer turns into something else entirely and a snarl rips from his throat. I move my hand up as if to brush my hair from my face. On the way back down, I put my hands on my hips, my right hand slightly further back so that I could reach the gun underneath my jacket, if needed.

"Your car? I thought this was the Manoso's car?"

"Whatever. His, mine, what does it matter?" I tersely reply back. Keeping my right hand down near my gun, I move my left one to my pocket where my panic button is. One of Ranger's rules, but I'm loving it right now. Discretely, I press the button and put my hand back onto my hip, as if I'm going to go into rhino mode on Joe's ass.

I'm not. To be honest, I just don't care anymore.

"What's this I hear about you going out of the country with Ranger?" Joe growls out at me. I shrug my shoulders, but really I'm wondering how the hell he could have found out already, and for it to already be blown out of proportion. Damn Burg grapevine…I scowl at Joe for a brief second, and then I grin wickedly at a brief thought. I'd like to think I also was able to raise an eyebrow, like Ranger does in this moment, so that Joe could hopefully assume an obvious answer to his question. Because, if I have to lie, which I may have to do, Joe may be able to see through it. One of the unfortunate side effects from dating a cop is that they can read people, normally very well. Joe, no matter his faults in his private life, is a damn good cop, and he's damn good at reading people.

I do my best to convey my inner slut towards Ranger, and luckily for me, feeling the hairs on the back of my neck stand up, my own personal Batman is here, and is stepping out of a big black SUV, with Lester behind the wheel. Walking up to me, he grasps me around the waist, twirling me for show.

"Babe, are you ready?" He gives me a wolf grin, and I beam up at him.

"Damn skippy I'm ready!" I exclaim, and then, shocking the girls, who I know are watching every detail from inside Vinnie's, and of course, much to the dismay of both Joe and Joyce, I plant a big fat playful kiss on Ranger's lips. Of course, I should've known he wouldn't let it stay playful, as I feel him lower his hands to my butt, grab a hold of each cheek tightly and then, I turn into a pile of gooey bonelessness. Damn, how this man can kiss. His kisses should be considered one of the World Wonders. If I wasn't such the jealous type, I'd sell his kisses and make millions.

Coming back down to reality from my cloud of desire, I hear a throat clear near us, looking over at Joe, who's clearly annoyed, I feel like doing a little happy dance, but of course, mature Stephanie stays in charge and I just stick my tongue out at him. Ranger catches it with another kiss, sucking my tongue into his mouth. I moan. Make that billions.

"Dammit Cupcake! What are you going to do, fuck this thug right here in the parking lot?!" Joe shouts at me. Stepping away from Ranger, to clear my hormone clouded head, I cock my head to the side as if thinking about it, as if Joe's given me a perfectly good suggestion. In all honesty, it's an excellent suggestion. Looking at Ranger for a moment, I attempt to raise an eyebrow in silent inquiry. Both must've raised though, because Ranger gives me one of his 200 watt smiles.

"Sorry, Babe. I don't think we have time before our flight."

"Rain check?" I tease, handing Ranger his keys to the Turbo. Blank face slamming back into place, Ranger finally briefly acknowledges Joe.

"Morelli." During our little teasing in the parking lot, Ranger had of course maneuvered us to the Turbo, and Joe is now closer to the front of the bond's office, looking completely aggravated by the situation. Joyce is standing next to him, leaning provocatively towards him. I grimace. Thinking about them having sex is a cold shower to my hormones that Ranger activated during our lip locking session.

Leaning over the console, Ranger gives me a quick, gentle peck on the lips, and I feel completely loved. I smile up at him and half joke, "Batman to the rescue again!" He lets out a gentle breath, his version of a sigh, puts the car into drive, and we drive back home to Haywood.


	5. Ch 5 - Ranger's POV

**_Disclaimer: All characters that you recognize belong to Janet Evanovich. Not making any money, just writing this story for my own amusement. Couple of OCs will be present in this story._**

**_Rated M, adults will act like adults. There may be smut, but since I've never written it, I can't guarantee it will be any good._**

**_Also, there may be spoilers from the actual novels, sorry for not warning sooner._**

* * *

**Chapter 5**

**October 19, 2011 1600 EST  
**

**Ranger's POV**

After watching Stephanie leave my office, I watch Sally sift uncomfortably in his seat. Before I could ask him what issues he may be having, Hector and his team shuffle through my door. Instead of allowing everyone to get comfortable, I decide that having my office as the central meeting location for this mission isn't ideal.

"Change of location. Head to Conference Room 3." I order, taking the lead and striding out of my office. I listen as my men follow me, and we take the stairs in silence down to the 3rd floor of the building. Once I'm in the conference room, I gaze around, while slightly smaller than Conference Rooms 1 and 2, it will still hold about twenty people comfortably, and due to the nature of this job, I believe that having a permanent place to put all of our research and have our meetings will be beneficial to its success.

"Make yourselves at home. This will be where you will be living until the job is completed. Any meeting will take place here. We will need to optimize the space to allow for research to be left in here, any leads, clues, or theories on the identification of the rapist. Zero, please get the white boards set up for use. I want them on the walls to save floor space. Use your laptops as much as possible and avoid paper, when possible. It is unacceptable to allow any lead, clue, or research item to be lost due to a disorganized work environment." I glare at all of the men in the room.

"_Hector, report_." I demand, sitting at the head of the table, and all of the other men take seats around it, easily fitting. Hector looks up from some small note cards in his hand and gives me a miniscule shrug of his shoulders.

"_There's not much to report Boss. Haven't been able to trace many calls from the number you gave. I do have her home number now as well, so we should have something more in the next couple of hours_."

"Understood. In addition to Kat being brought here, we'll also be bringing her two nephews. I will need panic buttons programmed for all three," pausing for a moment, I remember the ages of the boys from earlier, "for the boys' panic buttons, could you put them on something or in something they won't mind wearing, like a necklace or bracelet? We'll need to emphasize the proper use of these; I don't want them to press the buttons constantly, playing cry wolf."

Hector gives me a terse nod, and I glance around at the others, Zero, Brett, and Bones are all nodding excitedly, showing me their enthusiasm on creating what I'm asking for. Sally, on the other hand, looks lost; I guess he doesn't understand Spanish. Bobby and Lester are quietly discussing something amongst themselves. I'm about to start on my next item, GPS tracking, when Brett leans forward onto the table, quickly drawing something up that I can't quite see from the angle I'm at.

"Boss, Hector, I think bracelets will be best. I'll clean these up later, but I think we can-, no, wait, I know what I can do. I can build a panic button into watches for them. Yes! It'll be functional and concealed. I think kids would get a kick out of some spy shit." Brett explains, erasing and changing his quick sketch, then passing it to me. I nod an OK to allow for the fleshing out of this project. It is a very simple design, and he's right, it will conceal the fact that it's also a panic button. By the looks of his sketch, the button will be where a stop watch's button would be on a normal watch.

"Make one for Kat too. I think it would be a good idea to put two on her." Zero suggests. Again, I agree with this suggestion.

As I'm about the move onto the other items on my list, Cal comes rushing into the room. "Boss, Bomber's panic button's been activated!" He nervously exclaims. I silently pray to myself, shit, please not another stalker, please not another stalker. We really can't afford to be spread that thin, but if it happens to be the case, Steph will come first, and Kat will need to stay on lock down for the interim.

"Turbo off the grid?" I question, knowing that's the car she took earlier when she left. Cal shakes his head 'no'. I look over to Lester for brief second, he gives me a nod, and we stand up. "Where do the trackers place her?" I follow-up and begin making my way to the door, but before I walk out, I notice everyone else has gotten up to follow. "Hector, your team stays. I've left my notes on the table. Handle what you can. Put together a basic file on the what we know so far. Work with Sally on Kat's personal life."

"Boss, trackers show her at the bond's office." Cal replies to my initial question. I glance at him briefly, and then around the room. Hector's team doesn't look very pleased with me, but I've given them a direct order, so I know they'll stay put. My employees hate sitting idly by when Stephanie is in trouble. It's understandable, and I've run to her side more times than I'd like to admit, when it would have been more prudent for me to stay away.

"Let's roll."

With that, Cal, Lester, and I make our way down to one of the RangeMan SUVs. Lester makes a move to get into the driver's side, and I click my tongue in frustration at him. He gives me a devious smirk and tilts his head, waiting for an argument. "Boss, we need to get there alive. Every time it's a Steph situation, you drive over 100 mph to get to her location. It's always a scary death ride, and since I need to fly tonight, we can't die." He says, opening the door and sitting behind the wheel. I don't even give him a ten count. I just jump into the passenger side instead, with Cal in the back seat, and Lester takes off out of the garage.

During the drive, I glance over at the speedometer, and notice that he is driving just under 80 mph. When we arrive, I notice that Morelli is leaning tensely against the Turbo. Lester and Cal both give me a questioning look, but I shake my head at them and step out of the vehicle, quickly approaching from behind Joe.

The relief on Stephanie's face is clear, "Babe, are you ready?" I ask, making my way to her side.

"Damn skippy I'm ready!" She exclaims back to me, with an innocent grin on her face, and closes the distance to give me a quick kiss. Of course, kissing is my favorite pastime when it involves Stephanie, so I don't allow it to be just a kiss. It has to be one of our KISSES. The best feeling in the world overcomes me when I have her in my arms. I hate to look like a mushy, lovesick guy, but I become one, when she's in my arms. The love she has for me is palpable in the air, and it makes me never want to leave her warm fool. I think to myself.

Having my eyes slightly open during the kiss, I work to begin maneuvering us closer to the Turbo. If I wasn't in mid-kiss, I would laugh. As I move us, he moves away with a cringe. Finally, he clears his throat, but I've already put us close to the driver's side door.

Stephanie pulls away from the kiss, glowers at Morelli, then sticks her tongue out. Of course, she shouldn't have done that with me right next to her, because I'm now grabbing onto her tongue with my lips and teeth, dragging it back into my mouth for Round 2.

"Dammit Cupcake! What are you going to do, fuck this thug right here in the parking lot?!" Joe shouts at Steph. She steps away from me and shakes her head, clearing the fog. I mentally do the same, as she always has the same effect on me. But, years of honing in my facial expressions are the only reason I don't give it away. I look at her and smile, seeing that she's contemplating the suggestion.

"Sorry, Babe. I don't think we have time before our flight."

"Rain check?" She teases and puts the keys to the Turbo into my hand. I lead Steph to the passenger door and open it for her. As she's getting in, I look over to Joe. He's red in the face and still fuming.

"Morelli." I acknowledge and make my way back to the driver's side and slide smoothly in behind the wheel.

Before I put the car into drive, I give Stephanie another brief kiss. "Batman to the rescue again!" She jokes, and I want to roll my eyes. Luckily it was something I could rescue her from, I think to myself. I worry that one of these days, I won't be there in time.

Driving off, I chance a look in the rear view mirror at Morelli, and see that he's still red, but looking almost calculative. Joyce slinks up beside him, and I decide I really don't want to see any more of that exchange, and I turn my attention back to the road. That look he had though, for the briefest of passing makes me realize that I'll need to keep an eye on Morelli. His aggression towards Stephanie, even after almost a year since the breakup, will make me more cautious in the future where he is concerned. Despite the fact that this is the first time I've seen the aggression, I'll have to ask my Babe if he's been like this the entire time post breakup, when she's alone or with friends. Damn Manoso, way to be aware of your surroundings if this has been going on for the past six months.

I sneak a glance at Steph as she's staring out the window, while driving us down towards Haywood. Her eyebrows are slightly bunched together, and I know that she's thinking extremely hard about something. "Something burning, Babe?" I ask, breaking the silence in the car. She flinches at the sudden noise, and then looks over at me, a small smile beginning to appear on her lips.

"It's nothing, Ranger. Just trying to figure out why Morelli was by the car today."

"Hasn't happened before?" I inquire. She starts to shake her head, but then abruptly stops and nods instead.

"One time before you and I got together, and then another about three months after." She confesses.

"The flapping, angry Italian Joe after a disaster? Or the aggressive, jealous Joe that we just saw?"

"Second one for sure." She replies instantly, and then sighs. "I just don't get it. We weren't good together. Well, you know that. I thought he'd be happy that we'd finally broken up. I think it's because of how it ended. It's like he needs to prove that he's not his dad so he wants me back to show that he's a good guy. I say move on bucko, because I sure as hell am not doing that song and dance routine again" Then she glances over at me, giving me a sultry wink, "I've got a wonderfully whipped man at my disposal currently. I don't need anything on the side."

Even as a joke, I still can't stop the growl that comes from my throat, "Babe, I don't share." She giggles, leans over and brushes her lips on my neck. I assume it'll be just a kiss, but you know what they say about assuming something? Yeah. She takes a quick, teasing bite, and then jumps out of the car, racing for the elevator. I turn off the car, and race after, easily catching up to her, and as the doors open, pushing her inside up against the back of the elevator. Leaning down to her ear, I kiss the shell of it, moving down to her neck, brushing another one there, and then, just as I'm about to bite down, the doors open on 5.

I instantly step slightly away from her, grab her hand and begin making my way to my office. Steph's in such a daze, she doesn't even notice we're in my office, until Bobby and Lester appear with Sally.

"Boss, Beautiful." Lester acknowledges us. "While you were out, I was able to get the flight plans together, and we'll be wheels up by 10 PM, meaning we'll be in St. Louis a little before midnight. Gonna need to call Kat to let her know we'll be there about 3 hours earlier." Listening, I motion for Sally to pull out his phone and call Kat. He puts the call on speakerphone.

"Hello?"

"Kat, it's everyone from earlier," Sally begins, "hey looks like we'll be getting there before 3 am your time." In the background, over the phone I hear running and then high pitched squeals.

"That's fine. Do you need me to do anything on my end? Car rentals? Come pick you guys up?" She asks. Sally looks over at me with a shrug.

"No, it'll all be taken care of. We'll be touching down at Lambert around 2345, and we'll be heading directly to your place then." I confirm with her. Another yell, this time a screech can be heard from over the phone much closer than the last time, and I hear Kat giggle and whisper at screecher to go outside.

"That works. We'll all still probably be outside then. Told my neighbors that we're taking a vacation, and so, they've decided that I needed to host an impromptu get together." She brings up, explaining the background noise. "Of course, the parents are all still at their homes, and I just have around fifteen kids running through my house." She grumbles slightly.

Steph laughs at Kat's misfortunes, and she hears her, "hey, you just wait! When we get there, the boys' will be a constant strain. I'm really sorry about that too. They're good kids, just hyper. But tell 'em to sit down and hush it, they listen. They just don't stay down and hushed for very long…" She warns us. Steph laughs a little louder.

"One of my nieces prances about and pretends she's a horse. It'll be OK if they're just hyper children." Steph explains.

"Oh!" Kat exclaims abruptly, "how many people will be flying down? The five of you, only?"

"And two more, Cal and Woody for a third security detail. Two of us will be up at all times guarding you and the boys while we're there." I explain to her.

"OK. Well, there's one guest bedroom on main level and the master. There's another bedroom with two double beds in the basement, and I have two couches, so should be room for everyone."

"You're going to give up your bedroom? You don't have to do that." Stephanie speaks up. I hear Kat moving on her end, but she's quiet for a bit.

"Sorry, had to move. Little ears listening. Their parents may know what happened, but I don't think the kids have a clue," she explains, "anyway, I don't sleep in the master anymore. Not since-" she breathes out a sigh, "not since I was taken from in there. I sleep on a recliner in the living room now, err, when I sleep that is." She finishes, and I know that Stephanie is feeling sorrier for Kat now. Hell, I'm feeling sorrier for her too! To be so afraid in your own bedroom, that you avoid it, must be horrible. Us getting to her sooner, will hopefully give her some peace of mind. By the sounds of it, she's been handling this situation alone for far too long.

"OK, well then, we'll see you around midnight your time. I can't wait to meet you!" Stephanie enthusiastically replies. Sally beams at her, and bends down to Steph for a quick high five.

"Girlie, we'll see you soon, just wanted to give you an update on when we'd get there. I can't wait to meet you in 'real life'. Been gaming with you for years now, it's going to be awesome rocking together for a while!" Sally eagerly adds. And with that, there's a quick round of goodbyes all around, and Kat hangs up.

"OK, it's currently 1730, I'm going to call Ella and have her bring food up for the seven of us to my apartment. You have one hour to get packed for the weekend. Sally, Steph can take you back to Mooner's for your car, or you guys can just head to your place first, and I'll have one of the guys pick up your car and bring it to the garage." I command.

"Let's just head to my place so I can pack a bag." Sally states, looking at Steph, while digging his keys out of his pocket for me. He works one key off of the key ring, and hands the rest to me.

"Babe, Ella will have you packed by the time you get back. Just look over it, to make sure you have everything you'll want for the weekend." I say, pulling Steph to me for a quick kiss, and then she and Sally stroll out of my office.

As soon as they leave, I send a quick text to Ella about dinner and packing, and then I close my office door, and stride back to my desk. Sitting down, I briefly look down at the paper work that has piled on top of it. I may only have an hour to work, but I still want to make the most of it. Picking up the first contract, I begin browsing the information.

While looking at the revenue that the contract would bring in, my phone buzzes. Looking at the caller briefly—Tank.

"Yo."

"Hey Boss, just calling for an update on Sally's friend. Pulling into the garage now."

"Meet me in my office in five." Then I add, "and Tank, we'll be meeting on the mats on Monday 0500 instead." With that, I disconnect waiting for my second in command to make it to my office.


	6. Ch 6 - Tank's POV

**_Disclaimer: All characters that you recognize belong to Janet Evanovich. Not making any money, just writing this story for my own amusement. Couple of OCs will be present in this story._**

**_Rated M, adults will act like adults. There may be smut, but since I've never written it, I can't guarantee it will be any good._**

**_Also, there may be spoilers from the actual novels, sorry for not warning sooner._**

* * *

**Chapter 6**

**October 19, 2011 1730 EST  
**

**Tank's POV**

Double timing it up from the garage, I make it to Ranger's office in three minutes. Stepping into his office, I shut the door behind me and sit heavily down into one of the guest chairs. Quickly glancing at Ranger to check his mood, I see the passive blank face he keeps regularly, but with it, there's also tenseness to his body. Often, Ranger makes me think of a coiled snake or a sleek panther ready to spring, and today is no different. Everything about Ranger is deadly.

Without looking up from a contract he's looking over, he picks up file and hands it to me. I know the drill. It's a basic portfolio that has been put together, and I sharply draw in a breath at the basics on the front of the file. Katerina X. Derby. Age 29. DOB: 12-29-1982. It can't be…

Ranger, of course, is glowering at me, waiting for me to explain my response to the portfolio, but I can't speak. I just look at the next page, Ranger's handwritten notes, starting with a brief family history. Family: 2 nephews, brother deceased, sister in law deceased, Guardian of nephews, no significant other. One of her brothers is dead?! Then I read the next line, ovarian cancer-25. Another sharp intake, and I feel sweat begin beading on my forehead. Kat had cancer? What the hell has happened to her in these past nine years. Obviously, quite a fucking bit.

"Speak." Ranger barks at me, and I look up at him, my gaze focusing and staying on the wall behind him.

"If it's the Kat I know, this would be Kat S. Derby, for Sarah. We were in college together."

"Friends?" Ranger asks, getting right to the point. Still not able to meet his gaze, I reluctantly nod.

"Explain." Another order. How can I explain our past, when all I want to do is go back and change it…

"It's a long story." I hesitantly start.

"You have 30 minutes."

"Dammit, Ranger, it's private…" I attempt to skirt around telling the story, because no matter how I tell it, I'm the bad guy.

"You have 30 minutes." Ranger repeats. Blowing out a sigh, shifting my eyes so I'm gazing at my hands for a moment, I notice that I'm wringing them. I'm nervous. Ranger and I have been through hell together. Will he understand why I, in my idiocy, did what I did. "Now, you have 29 minutes." He threatens.

Summoning up what little courage I seem to currently have, I start the story at the beginning, because where the hell else do you tell a story. "I met Kat my Freshman year. I was 20 and she was 18. We were in the same dorm room building together, although different floors. I remember the first time I saw her. Standing next to a junky old banged up Camaro. One arm was covered in tattoos, and the other was halfway covered. She had bright orange hair that barely hit her chin. And she was tiny. I mean Ranger, Kat's a very petite woman, and I'm guessing it's still true now. In college, she bounced between 90-100 lbs constantly, but she eats…or she ate, as much as Steph. Different foods though, Kat was a vegetarian in college.

"Anyway, there's this little white chick, right, trying to pull out a small TV from the back of the car, but it's a two door, and she's having issues, because she also has a duffel bag and backpack swung over her shoulders. Having already moved my stuff into my dorm, I go over to offer my assistance. She was absolutely fearless when I towered over her, offering my help. She gave me a huge smile and man, before I met Bomber, I don't think I had ever seen prettier blue eyes. Different shade completely then Steph's. Kat's look like ice, or you know Husky dogs' eyes. Like theirs. Pale and gorgeous. Her smile absolutely lit the blues up, and I remember thinking that I'd never met a prettier woman before then. At first, I didn't even notice her piercings, because her eyes, man, they just keep your attention."

Gulping in a big breath, I continue, "so, I moved her up to her dorm, and it was pretty funny. She was directly a floor above me, and our beds were positioned on the same side. We laughed at that, and then, she asked me out for pizza as a thank you. I agreed, and we became inseparable. We didn't have any classes together, you know, because she was an art major, and I was 'Undecided', but we went out constantly, every evening. If there was a party, we went together. From the first day when we met, we became an exclusive couple. Physically, complete opposites, but emotionally and personality wise, we seemed compatible. Kat didn't yell or get jealous, and we didn't fight. There were no big blowouts, no arguments. She was laid back. I was laid back. We clicked.

"When Thanksgiving break came around, I begged her to come and meet my mom and sister. And she agreed. My family fell as in love with her, as I was. When Christmas rolled around, we did the reverse, and I met her brothers, Tom and Patrick, and her dad Greg. And they loved me. Ranger man, we didn't talk marriage or kids or life outside of the day we were living in. And you know me, I like plans and procedures, and with Kat, I had impulse and disarray. But it worked. Like how you and Bomber work. Opposites really do attract.

"And that's how we were. Sophomore year we moved out of the dorms into a small one bedroom apartment near campus, and we lived the domesticated lifestyle of an old married couple. But it wasn't boring. It was perfect…until…I fucked everything up, heading into our Junior year."

I took a deep breath and for the first time, I stare up out of my memories and at my boss. He's leaning back in his chair, watching me closely.

"While I loved Kat, I hated college. And, as you know, when I turned 22, I joined the Army. Kat was supportive and wonderful and proud of me. She even started working out with me before Basic just to help me get fit. I was so happy that she didn't go completely ape shit on me and leave. But, then again, I should've known that she'd take my joining in stride, even when I didn't go over it with her. Told her I was going to visit a recruiting office, and she said 'OK'. That was that.

"During Basic a few soldiers were placing bets on those of us with girlfriends, fiancés, or wives. The bets were placed on the month we were deployed to the month that they'd cheat. Everyone said that the women wouldn't stay faithful. And, when a few of the guys saw Kat, after graduation, they just grinned and put in a bet saying she'd cheat within a month. It was constantly on my mind. They're sneers at our relationship, so when my deployment came, I told Kat that I didn't love her, that I wouldn't be waiting for her, and that we didn't have a future together. She broke down in tears and begged me, Ranger, begged me not to end us. It was the first time that I saw her get truly emotional over something…and that something was me breaking her heart…"

I inhale another deep breath, and put my face in my hands, allowing my memories of my next words to her to seep into my brain. I'm going to have to tell Ranger what I said, and how I pushed her away, hurting her even more.

"She reached out to me during her pleas, and I just turned on my heels and walked to the door of our apartment, of my home with her. When I got there, I said, 'you were just a good lay, I never really loved you. Who would love a freak?' Those were the last words I said to her.

"You wanna know what's worse, man?" I ask, looking back at Ranger dejectedly. The look he is giving me is pure venom. He's talked to Kat recently, probably already feeling a sense of protectiveness for her. Like Steph, Kat can trickle into hearts and stay there forever. You're changed once you've met her.

"She waited. Called my mom and sister the next day, in tears at what I did. They said they thought I was just afraid, and Kat readily agreed. She held onto to that hope that once I was over my fear, I'd come back to her. She went to church every Sunday, my momma said. Prayed for me constantly. I'd call every month and ask how she was, and they'd tell me. But I never called her. She waited three years for me. Until, my mom and sister finally told her that I was calling to check up on her. I remember that too, dammit. My mom called me the next day. Said she confessed to Kat about talking to me regularly, and that I was always asking about her life. Momma said that Kat, who'd been in tears, when she'd arrived, wiped her eyes, stood up, and walked out the door, without so much as a backward glance to my mom or sister. She changed her number and never replied to emails or letters that they sent to her. Kat cut my family out of her life, because for the three years that she waited, she now knew that I knew she'd stayed faithful to me, and even then, I still didn't go to her. It was the last bit of rejection, and it made her think that I really didn't love her."

"Why didn't you call her?" Ranger asks quietly. I clear my throat and wring my hands again.

"I was so cruel to her. How do you say sorry to the things I said?" I answer, giving him my lame reasoning on never calling. Ranger snickers at me, giving me a malicious smile, and his eyes coldly boring holes into mine.

"You pick up the phone and say you're fucking sorry." Nodding, I can only agree with him now. But at that point, it felt like too much time had gone by. And to hear about what she's gone through in her life since then, I wish I was there for her.

"Do you know…" I start, my voice sounding a little strained due to all my talking, "do you know which one of her brothers passed away?" I ask, hoping he has an answer, but not really wanting to hear it. Both Tom and Pat were really good guys and great brothers to Kat.

"No." Glancing at his watch, Ranger stands, and I move to follow him. "Where do you think you're going?" He asks. I know I must be looking at him like he has two heads.

"With you. I want to be in on Kat's pickup." I reply, but he curtly nods his disagreement.

"I need you to handle the paperwork while we're gone this weekend." He says and then walks out of his office, without a backward glance. Bullshit he's dismissing me like that. I need to know more about Kat…FUCK! Realizing that I never got around to looking at the portfolio fully earlier, I pick it back up from his desk and begin reading.

Every word on the paper is causing bile to rise up in my throat. She was raped! She's being stalked! Fuck this can't be happening, not to someone as great as her. Raped because of her looks? What does that even mean, because she's gorgeous, or another reason? I'm not staying in Ranger's office, while they play superhero to the love of my life.

Defying my boss and friend for the first time in years, I jump up with the portfolio still in hand and march out of the office towards the elevators. Fobbing my way up to seven, I let myself into Ranger's apartment.

* * *

**A/N: Thanks for reading so far! I hope you're enjoying this, as much as I'm enjoying writing it. Soon, there will be more action. Just a couple more chapters to get a lot of the basics out of the way, and then, the fun really begins. The next chapter will be in Steph's POV up until the airport. The airplane ride will be a chapter with multiple POVs in it. Going to add in Lester and Bobby's voices starting then, as well as bringing back the voice of our favorite man in drag. Next updates should be tomorrow.**


	7. Ch 7 - Steph's POV

**_Disclaimer: All characters that you recognize belong to Janet Evanovich. Not making any money, just writing this story for my own amusement. Couple of OCs will be present in this story._**

**_Rated M, adults will act like adults. There may be smut, but since I've never written it, I can't guarantee it will be any good._**

**_Also, there may be spoilers from the actual novels, sorry for not warning sooner._**

* * *

**Chapter 7**

**October 19, 2011 1730 EST  
**

**Steph's POV**

Leaving Haywood for the second time today, I decide to put in a metal mix CD that Sally for me to listen to on the way to his place. However, just as soon as the beginning drumbeat for 'Enter Sandman' comes on, I hear Sally audibly sigh next to me. Sneaking a glance over at him, I notice that he looks tired as he stares down at his hands, examining his nails too closely.

"You want to talk about it?" I probe. Sally focuses his gaze on me, and I'm in shock at his expression; he looks heartbroken. Instead of answering though, he just shrugs and looks returns his attention to his nails. "Come on, Dude! Don't make me guess." I fish again. Looking back up at me, Sally gives me a weak smile.

"It's just…" He begins, but again, shrugs his damn shoulders at me. "Dammit! Shrug 'em again, I dare ya, punk! Going to bitch smack his ass if he does it one more time." "Smack mine, and I'll smack back!" Sally threatens with a small smile ghosting his face.

"Look, Steph, it's just, this happened two fucking months ago to Kat! Other than earlier, I haven't heard from her at all since it happened. Something this big happens, you'd think, you'd fucking think, that she'd let her friends know! Why the fuck did she wait so long to ask for help?" Sally spits out to me, venting his frustrations. Although he wants me to take his side, and I do to an extent, I can understand where Kat may be coming from.

"Sally, listen to me. I think she should've told you, but maybe she likes to live in the Land of Denial, like me? Maybe she wanted to pretend like it never happened? You may dress like a girl sometimes Sally, but you aren't one. Even the idea of being raped causes me to break out in a cold sweat, especially because I've come close to having it happen to me. It's a major fear for a lot of women, and, every woman has thought about what would happen to them, if the unthinkable were to happen, and they were raped. Would they survive, both literally and emotionally? Could they ever trust another man again, if they did survive? Should they seek help, because they need it, or avoid it, because they're ashamed? Do you realize that some women are actually embarrassed that they were raped in the first place?" Stepping of my soapbox, I steal another peek over at Sally. His expression is still that of a broken hearted kid, but he also has another sentiment brewing below the surface; understanding.

"I guess I…I was just hurt that she didn't tell me…why didn't she tell me?" He confesses.

"And I understand that Sally, but you have to see it from her side. Plus she's come to you now!" I remind him. Nodding his acceptance at my response, he switches his attention to the window.

"I just want her to be safe and happy again…" He whispers, not meeting my gaze again for the rest of the ride to his condo.

Luckily for me, it isn't a long drive, and we make our way quickly from the Cayenne to his front door. Having only been to his place when he lived with Sugar, I notice that he's completely redecorated the entire entry way.

Following Sally to his room, I step on a large platform heeled shoe, and trip forward smacking face first into Sally's back. We both collapse jumbling our limbs together. Way to be aware of your surroundings…I grumble to myself.

Sally, laughing at our new positions on the floor, disentangles himself from me and hauls me up off of the floor. "Thanks…" I mutter, and he just shrugs his shoulders, holding onto my hand and pulling me into his bedroom. "No wonder I almost killed us! Look at this mess…must've leaked out into the rest of the condo."

"Hey! I've been to your apartment, Steph! I know just how messy you can be!" He jokes, clearly hearing my thoughts. I should just keep my mouth taped shut, taking it off only when I want to actually speak. Would keep these thoughts from vomiting out of my mouth constantly.

"You mean, you've seen my old apartment. Seven always stays clean now."

"Yeah, because Ranger is a neat freak." Sally counters, giving me a knowing smirk, and then he takes in his room from the doorway. Still grinning, Sally shoos me to his bed, where I sit, and watch what I will now dub 'Cyclone Sally'. No wonder his entire room is a mess. He's completely indecisive when it comes to packing.

I watch dumbfounded, as he opens up all of his drawers, tossing out tops, both clearly women's tops and men's; skirts and jeans; dresses; and I swear something that has to be a kilt. Also, something I wish I didn't watch him do, as he opens another drawer, pulling out undergarments, clearly feminine. Finally, looking at the floor around him, he picks out a couple of outfits and makes his way to the bed. Plopping the pile down, he heads to a smaller dresser in the corner of his room by the TV. There, he grabs his makeup and nail polish. Depositing this smaller pile onto the bed, he races to his closet, pulling out a duffel bag and three pairs of shoes: a pair of black high tops, a pair of the most hideous wedge sandals I've ever seen, and a pair of black patent knee high go-go platform boots with what appear to be a 4" heel. With his new bounty firmly in his arms, he makes his way back to the bed. Tossing the shoes into the duffel, he folds his outfits and place them in next. Closing up the bag, he opens up a side compartment and haphazardly throws in his makeup, while gazing quickly around the room.

"Done in here!" He exclaims. I look at my watch and break down laughing. It has taken 'Cyclone Sally' just over five minutes to pack. That's got to be some type of record, I think to myself. Grabbing his bag and my hand again, Sally drags me along to his bathroom and grabs the necessities from there. Finishing, we make our way back out to the Cayenne. I still have some stray tears from watching him pack, but I get myself under control, hitting play on the console for the CD we never got a chance to listen to, 'Enter Sandman' starts up.

"Let's get this show on the road." I say, and with that, I start navigating us back to Haywood. We drive in sync together, singing 'Enter Sandman', and then 'The Heretic Anthem' by Slipknot, when it starts playing. Sally's head banging to the music, and I'm doing my version of a drivable head bang too. We make it back to Haywood, a little quicker, due to the music causing me to have a bit of a lead foot.

"Thanks for earlier." Sally starts, and I stare curiously at him, as we step out of the Cayenne together.

"For what?"

"For your explanation. For why maybe Kat never told me before today about what's been going on."

"Oh, no problem." I state dumbly.

"It helped." He responds, and we step into the elevator, looking at my watch, I notice that it's 6:45, so I decide to fob us up to seven. When the elevator opens its doors to the floor, I notice that there are loud muffled voices coming from the apartment. Squaring my shoulders for a possible disaster, I enter my home, dragging a reluctant Sally behind me.

The first thing I notice is that Ella has made us a fettuccine dish with garlic bread for dinner and a large salad. It smells heavenly, well the fettuccine and bread smell wonderful, the salad smells like salad. However, my food coma will have to wait, because I then take in the six large men in the room, five of them on one side near the living room and one close to the door where Sally and I are at. As soon as I shut the door, the voices drop immediately, but there's a thick tension in the air.

"I have the right to talk to her!" Tank shouts into the silence. The others glower at him, but they don't talk back. I stare at all of the guys, and then fix my gaze pointedly onto Ranger. He gives Tank a curt nod.

"Babe, Sally, Tank, my office now." He commands and heads back towards it. The others, Lester, Bobby, Cal and Woody look like they want to follow, but Ranger looks back at them with a hard glare. "You aren't coming. Go eat. Lester, after you're done, rest for a bit. We leave at 2030." He finishes, dismissing the others, as the rest of us head down the hall into his office, with Ranger closing the door behind him when he enters.

"Sit." Ranger commands, and I give him my best death glare. He knows that I hate being ordered around, and when he barks out commands like that, it raises my hackles. Noticing my temper is rising, itching for a fight, Ranger motions for me to stop. "Please Babe. Not now." Ranger groans. Submitting, I sit down in his office chair and Tank and Sally take the couch. Ranger looks around for a brief moment, before coming over to where I'm sitting. Picking me up quickly, he sits in the office chair, replacing the chair as my seat with his lap. Fine by me. I think to myself, leaning back into his chest, breathing deeply in his Bulgari scent.

"Tank knows Kat." Ranger says, getting right to the point. Sally looks shocked at that comment, looking from Ranger to me to Tank and then back again. If it wasn't for Ranger's voice when he gave that information, I'd be laughing at Sally's reaction. However, Ranger doesn't chit chat. He's telling us this for a reason, and based on the yelling and the edgy energy everyone out in the living room had, I'm guessing it's not a good reason.

"Earlier, almost right after you left, Tank called requesting an update. I had him meet me in my office on five, and I handed him the file. From the DOB and name, Tank surmised that Kat was his girlfriend from college. They dated for two years. He broke up with her, and it wasn't clean." Ranger quickly explains, giving the basics.

"And?" I ask, knowing there has to be more. Ranger leans into my hair, giving me a quick kiss on the back of my head.

"And, he wants to come with us to pick her up."

"Why?" Sally asks, shooting Tank an accusing glare.

"Because, I haven't seen her in nine years, and I want to make sure she's OK!" Tank gruffly retorts, dismissing Sally's glare and looking behind me at Ranger.

"Why haven't you seen her in nine years? And how bad was the breakup?" I ask, putting all of my attention onto Tank. He reluctantly looks at me for a brief moment, and then he gets a nervous look on his face.

"Look Little Girl, it was nine years ago. I've changed, and I just want to help her."

"And we will when she gets here, but why haven't you seen her and how bad was the breakup?" I question again. Blowing out a sigh, woah, Tank sighing!, he looks over at Sally, for what, I'm not sure.

"Breakup was pretty bad. We dated our Freshman and Sophomore years. I joined the Army right before our Junior year-"

"And she dumped you for that?"

"No, Bomber, I broke it off with her." Tank quickly corrects, defending Kat. "After Basic, a few soldiers got it in my head that all women cheat, and that I'd be better off solo, so I broke up with her. But she still waited. My mom and sister made her think that I was just scared, and Kat wanted to prove that she could be faithful. After waiting for three years, my mother and sister confessed that I knew she'd been waiting, but when I still didn't try to get back with her, Kat assumed I didn't love her anymore."

"And do you?"

"Do I what? Still love her?" Tank asks, looking at me, and then down at his hands. When I nod, he does too.

"Tank! You're marrying Lula in four months!" I shout at him. Oh, if he hurts my girl, I'll make his life hell.

"You guys are still gonna help her though, right?" Sally quietly asks from his seat. I look at him, for a brief moment before spinning around in Ranger's lap to face him.

"We have to Ranger! Tank can go somewhere else or handle other RangeMan duties! We have to help Kat. We've already promised. I told her we'd catch the bastard! We can't just-" Whatever we can't just do disappears from my brain, as Ranger's lips descend onto my mouth, forcing it to accept his tongue.

As quickly as the kiss starts, it ends, with me staring stupidly at a grinning Ranger. "Of course we'll still help her. The rest of the guys don't want Tank to come on the pickup." He pauses briefly, "but, I wanted to wait to ask your thoughts on it, before I said one way or another."

He wants my opinion?! What could go wrong with Tank coming with us? They meet again after nine years, and devastated, Kat kills Tank. Or, they meet again and re-fall in love!? Oh, that can't happen. Poor Lula. She's going to be devastated. The wedding will be cancelled. "Damn, I'll have to return my dress!"

"What the hell are you talking about Bomber?!" Tank barks out. Ranger tenses underneath me at Tank raising his voice to me. I just blush, because I realize that I can't give really tell him what I was thinking. I just shrug, and look back up into Ranger's smirking face. He always knows exactly what I'm thinking.

"Even if Steph doesn't think it's a bad idea, we're still going to call Kat and ask her permission too. If she doesn't want you there, or on the case for that matter, you won't be." Ranger states calmly.

"Well, call her then!" Tank frustratingly snaps back. Ranger slaps a blank face in place, and I twist my neck to see Tank slowly shrink back into the couch. Giving him a good minute to calm down, Ranger reaches behind him, turning on the speakerphone to his landline and dials in the number.

"You don't talk." Ranger commands, fixing his gaze onto his second in command briefly.

"…Hello?" We hear Kat quietly answer the phone, audibly yawning.

"Kat, its Ranger."

"Oh! Hey, what's up?" She cheerfully asks. It's weird to hear her sound so upbeat, because not even four hours ago her voice sounded pitchy and panicky.

"We're still planning on getting to you by midnight, but there may be an eighth. Need to get your input though." Ranger begins to explain.

"Another person to protect me? Hell, I'm all for that!"

"He says he knows you."

"Oh? I don't know anyone from New Jersey, other than Sally. Well, and now you guys. What's his name?"

"Pierre." I hear a gasp, and then a loud bang. A couple of seconds tick by, and then I hear Kat breathing slightly heavier on the phone.

"As in Pierre Pierre, like from college Pierre?" She asks, her voice now slightly raspy with a hidden emotion. That or she's panicking.

"Yes." Ranger tersely replies, giving nothing else away.

"Did he tell you about-umm, does he know about my situation?"

"Yes, and he wants to come down with us for your protection detail." Ranger confirms.

"Is he there?" Kat quietly asks, her voice now barely above a whisper. I look behind me and see both Sally and Tank have come over to stand next to the phone on the desk.

With a quick glance in Tank's direction, silencing him before he has a chance to talk, Ranger acknowledges Kat's question. "Yes, he's here."

"Can he hear me?"

"Yes."

"Shit, could you umm, Pierre, could you go away?" She hesitantly requests. Blank face in place, Tank makes no move to the door, but Ranger gives him an imperceptible shake of his head and then a nod towards the door. With the unspoken command to leave, Tank dejectedly does.

"He's gone." Ranger confirms to Kat, and I hear her let out a quiet sigh.

"Does he need to come?" Kat questions.

"No, and if you don't want him on the case, he won't be."

"Ranger, in your opinion, should he be?" She inquiries. Ranger gazes at me, blank face slipping as a small smile appears, and he leans in to give me a quick kiss.

"He's my second in command. If there wasn't a history between you and him, then he'd be helping. Either handling the search with me or commanding another team for a search. He's damn good at what he does. But there is a-"

"No, buts. You've given your opinion, and that is what I needed to hear. Look Ranger, no bullshit, we don't know how dangerous this guy is. I mean, I know how dangerous he is, but is that only with women who've modified themselves? Or, once you guys start digging for him, will he turn violent towards everyone involved? I don't want anyone getting hurt, and if Tank's that important to your business, I'd imagine that it wouldn't be the smartest to leave him out." She states, interrupting Ranger.

"Are you sure?"

"Positive. Just…look, I know it's not your job, but since you called about it and all, I guess you're concerned, either for me or for him or because you don't want any drama, and I don't either. So, I'm just gonna say it. If you want to let him know, that'd be great. I don't love Pierre anymore, well, I'm not in love with him anymore. If he could just treat me like a stranger or just as a job that would be perfect. We'll just stay totally professional and polite, but that's it." She blurts out to us, quickly and then exhales loudly.

"Will do."

"Thank you! Damn, it's almost 7. I really need to lie back down for a little bit longer before Mitch leaves. Sorry, you guys are absolutely still coming, right?"

"Correct. We'll be there by midnight."

"OK, good. See you then!" Kat disconnects. Simultaneously to the disconnect, my stomach let out a loud growl, making itself known due to my neglect of it today.

"There better still be food left!" I grumble and race to the door. However, instead of being able to run into the kitchen, I collide into a mountain. "Dammit Tank! Outta my way!" I exclaim, trying to push past him. He doesn't move.

"What's the word?" He demands.

"You're not going, but you're still on the case in general. You will give her space and be professional at all times." Ranger orders him and then walks directly forward. Tank moves quickly to avoid being run over by Ranger, and I follow with Sally on my tail to the kitchen for dinner.

It smells even more wonderful than earlier! Grabbing a plate, I toss piles of fettuccine onto it with two pieces of garlic bread. Heading to the island to eat, Ranger grabs the back of my collar, keeping me from going to sit down.

"Forgetting something, Babe?" He inquires with a smug look on his face. Grumbling to myself, I turn back around. Looking at the evil salad, I grab a small scoop and put the offending greenery onto my plate. "Of course, no ranch to get rid of the taste," I mumble to myself, getting a laugh from Woody and Cal, who are leaning up against the wall near the island. Throwing a one-finger salute in their direction, I make my way to my stool and begin digging in.

Following my lead, Sally makes his way to where I'm sitting with Ranger directly behind him. We eat in silence for a couple of minutes. Well, they eat in silence, but the food is so delicious that I can't stop myself from moaning in delight after each bite. "Any dessert?" I ask, looking around for anything currently covered that could be hiding my precious treat. Unfortunately, I spy nothing that would indicate I'm getting anything delightfully sugary tonight.

"Sorry Babe. I forgot to mention dessert to Ella." Ranger apologizes, shifting in discomfort at forgetting my treat.

"Payback's a bitch, Ranger." I grumble, fixing my death stare onto him. He gives me a wolf grin, and I innocently smile back. "Not tonight dear, I have a headache."

"Damn Boss! Beautiful is serious about her dessert, huh?" Lester jokes, "bet you're wishing you didn't forget about it? Bet you're wishing you could call Ella up right now to fix it? Bet you're wishing for an emergency cake stash? Bet you're-"

"Wishing you'd shut the fuck up?" Ranger growls at him.

Lester gives me a flirty grin, waggling his eyebrows. "Beautiful, since the Boss is in the doghouse, if you need me at any time tonight during the flight, come on up to the cockpit." Another growl rumbles from Ranger's chest, as he possessively places an arm around my waist.

"Enough. Santos! Babe go check your bag and make sure Ella was able to pack everything you'd need. We are leaving in five everyone." And with that remark, I race into our bedroom and see my bag on the bed. Opening it, I quickly scan the contents. Rushing over to the closet, I pull out another pair of pumps to toss in with everything else. Nodding to myself, I pick up the bag and head back out into the living room. Only Ranger, Sally and Tank are still in there.

"Good to go, Babe?"

"Aye, aye Cap'n!" I reply with a salute.

"OK smartass, let's go then." Ranger replies, grabbing the bag and my hand, as we head towards the door.

In the elevator, he turns to Tank, "Tank, don't pick up the vehicles at the airport. We'll be back Sunday evening at the latest and will need them. Call if you have an emergency." Ranger commands. The elevator stops, Ranger gives Tank another knowing look and Tank steps out of the elevator to begin running RangeMan.

"What was that about?" I ask.

"Just his attitude earlier." Ranger vaguely responds, and then he gives me an 'I'll tell you later' look, so I decide it's best to drop the subject for now. Sally just looks between the two of us, his eyebrows knitting together in confusion.

"Babe, you, Sally, and I will be in the Cayenne. Lester and Bobby are bringing a secondary vehicle and Cal and Woody are bringing another."

"Why three vehicles?" I question.

"Because, we're bringing three more back with us." Duh! I cringe to myself.

Not having much time to feel like a dork, the elevator doors open again, and I see the four Merry Men who will be coming with us, all dressed in black, looking like bad asses. I also notice that each have their guns holstered on their utility belts.

"Private plane, Babe." He answers my silent concern. I smile to myself and make my way over to the Cayenne. Giving the boys a finger wave, I plop myself into the vehicle unceremoniously. Ranger and Sally step into the vehicle with much more grace than me, the Merry Men follow our lead. With all of us comfortably in our vehicles, our convoy departs Haywood.


	8. Ch 8 - Bobby & Steph's POVs

**_Disclaimer: All characters that you recognize belong to Janet Evanovich. Not making any money, just writing this story for my own amusement. Couple of OCs will be present in this story._**

**_Rated M, adults will act like adults. There may be smut, but since I've never written it, I can't guarantee it will be any good._**

**_Also, there may be spoilers from the actual novels, sorry for not warning sooner._**

* * *

**Chapter 8**

**October 19, 2011 2115 EST  
**

**Bobby's POV**

Driving out of the RangeMan garage, I think about what has happened in the last six hours. First, we find out that Sally has a friend that needs rescuing. Hearing Kat's story, has taken its toll on me.

While I've seen my fair share of vile, human interactions during war, Ranger has always attempted to shield me from it on most missions, claiming that a medic should be close, but never in the middle of the missions. Sometimes I feel like that protection has cost me much needed cynicism for our line of work.

Because of this, I am the member on the team that will be handling Kat's emotional state throughout the mission. It will be my job to make sure that she stays strong through the upcoming weeks and months, while we search for her rapist. I know that this is going to be a long road for her, and that the longer it takes us to find him, and the more he's able to harass and stalk her, the harder it will be for her to stay sane.

Glancing over at Lester, I notice that he's mindlessly humming a cartoon's theme song, aimlessly staring out the window.

"Got something on your mind?" I curiously inquire. During the day, he and I have been discussing our thoughts and opinions on the matter of this case, and I know that at first he wasn't thrilled with helping. Not because he feels that Kat doesn't need or shouldn't be helped, but because he is worried that he can't reign in his personality and jokes and will end up scaring her worse than she already is.

Lester looks over at me, his eyes focusing on me, losing a glassiness to them that was momentarily there. "I dunno, Brown. What if I say the wrong thing?" He confesses, and I mentally roll my eyes at his repeating this concern again to me.

"Look, man, all you can do is your job. And don't be an idiot. And you should be fine."

"OK, but let's be real, sometimes, I can be a real comedian."

"Santos, you're never funny. You think you're funny, but you're never actually funny. Just don't tell her any jokes, and you should be fine."

"So you think I should ignore her?

"Did I say ignore her? No, I said don't tell her any jokes. Honestly, you can tell her jokes, just don't tell her any overly perverted ones." I counter, but he shrugs his shoulders and stares back out of the window.

"Just, treat her like you would normally treat someone. We can warn her about how you are, if needed. But, don't touch. I'm sure she may be able to take your jokes, but I know you like to grab Bomber from behind…don't do that to Kat." He looks back at me, a huge cheshire grin on his face.

"What if she wants me to grab her from behind?"

"Yeah, like that'd happen." I snort, and then seriously tack on, "she was raped. Most likely she's suffering from psychological effects from it, probably it's PTSD. You've gone through that shit. Hell, I've gone through that shit. Time and help is what's needed. But, you mess with her Santos and tear down any of her progress, Ranger won't have to call you to the mats, because I'd already have done it. And, I'll kick your ass so bad you won't be getting any for months." I finish, allowing my promise to thicken in the air.

"Damn, got it Brown. First Tank and now you. What's with the wordy responses today?" He snickers out.

"Tank, ugh. Don't get me started on him. I can't believe what he told us at Ranger's. And then, wanting to come with us? Like this poor girl hasn't just gone through a huge event recently in her life, he now wants to show up after nine years and what, pick up where they left off? What the hell is that about?"

"I don't think he wants to pick up or start dating again. I mean, he's marrying Lula right? And seriously, you saw Kat. She's freaky looking. Who'd honestly date her? Hell, I know Lula's a bit on the chunky side, but I'd choose her over a skinny chick with all of those piercings and tattoos any day." Lester answers me.

"Don't be an ass. She's pretty."

"If you like your woman without even minimal curves, then yes, she's a knock out!"

"Well, if that's how you feel, why are you worried about joking with her? Just don't flirt, and you'll be fine. Sounds like you don't even find her attractive." I counter, and he gives me a curious glance.

"So, you really think she's pretty?"

"Yeah, I do, and we're here. Go get your ass to the plane and be a pilot." I tersely reply, ending our conversation. Lester jumps out of the SUV, grinning, and starts making his way to where the jet is housed. Grabbing our bags, I make my way over to Cal and Woody.

"Brown." Woody and Cal acknowledge me. Steph and Ranger are grabbing their bags from the Cayenne, while Sally picks his bag up off of the ground next to him. Briefly, I glance over to where Lester is skipping, yes, literally skipping into the airport heading to get the jet set up for our departure. Shaking my head in disgust and disbelief at him, I watch as the rest of our group get to us.

"Santos?" Ranger questions. I nod in the direction that Lester just went. Looking in that direction, Ranger grabs Steph's hand, and we make our way in silence towards the jet. Due to constant traveling, we all know, except for Sally and Steph, where we're going. I watch in amusement as Steph whips her head around at all of the crowds swarming around us.

She's such an inquisitive person, that she can't help but eavesdrop on everyone's conversations as we pass. I grin as I notice that Ranger is all but dragging her to keep her from stopping. He catches my stare, giving me his patent blank stare with a slight glimmer in his eyes. Amusement. Of course Bomber is amusing him with her childlike wonder. It's one of the reasons we all love her.

* * *

**Steph's POV**

Admiring the chaos around me, I watch in fascination at all of the interactions. Everyone is displaying raw emotions as they meet their loved ones, or in some cases, say goodbye to their loved ones in the busy terminals. I sneak glances in every direction, spying on these intimate moments in their lives. Of course, it's easy to spy because Ranger is guiding me through towards wherever the RangeMan jet is.

When we get out to it, I make no attempt to stop my jaw from hitting the ground. The jet is gorgeous! It's sleek, black, and has the RangeMan logo, elegantly on the tail, and it's quite a bit bigger than I thought it would be.

"Wait until you see the inside, Babe." Ranger breathes in my ear. All I can do is nod, as I make my way slowly up the stairs, stopping in front of a grinning Lester.

"Beautiful, let me show you around. We'll start in the bedroom."

Rolling my eyes at Ranger's growl behind me, I joke, "Lester, one of these days, you're going to bait the tiger and the tiger is going to eat you." He continues to grin widely at me, and I see the wheels spinning, his mouth getting ready to form his next joke, whether it's funny or not.

"I'd much rather you eat me." I hear him say as I shove my way past him into the plane. My jaw unhinges again, taking in the interior of the jet's black leather seats and dark wood floors, with wood trimming its sides. It's stunning! I see a door that must be where the bedroom or bathroom is. Hesitantly, slightly stepping forward, I open the door, but it's just a closet.

"Bedroom's in the back, Babe." Ranger murmurs from behind me. I spin around to look at him, and notice that I'm blocking everyone else from entering the jet. Quickly moving aside, the others step in, storing their cargo and taking their seats. Luckily, Sally is here with me, and I see that I am not the only one affected by the jet's appearance.

"Girl, this is the shit!" Sally exclaims, and I nod vigorously in agreement. Forgetting all about the bedroom, I take an empty seat by a window, moaning at the feel of the leather underneath me.

Buckling in, I hear Lester over the intercom, "this is your Captain speaking, let's get this show on the road. It is now 2205, that 10:05 Beautiful, and we are about to take off. Destination: Lambert International in St. Louis. ETA: 2405 CST, 105 EST."

Ranger takes the seat next to me, while Sally and Bobby sit in front of us. The four of us are sharing a table, as a divider, and I glance in disappointment when Ranger pulls out his laptop. "You're going to work?" I groan my displeasure. He just gives me a look that says, 'I love you, but you drive me crazy sometimes'. I get that look a lot from him.

Plugging his laptop in, he opens up the internal site for RangeMan. I watch him navigate to Kat's file on the server, and I realize that the file is actually pretty substantial. "Looks like the Bug Squad's been busy." I quietly say.

"Yes they have been, and we are conferencing in with them now to go over the case so far." Ranger explains, as he opens his phone, puts it on speakerphone and dials Hector.

"Hey Bossman, We've been expecting your call." Brett's voice answers instead of Hector's, as I was expecting.

"What do you have?" Ranger barks.

"We have a list of numbers that have recently called her phone. One number in particular keeps coming up, and Kat confirmed with us, that that is the number the rapist calls from. Now, we're awaiting a callback from her carrier for information on that number. Once we have that information, we'll be able to hack the rapist's carrier's information for general and cell tower information. Hopefully, we get enough information that we can get a decent idea on where he's calling from." Brett reports.

"How long until we have that information?" Ranger questions Brett. In the background, I can hear the rest of the Bug Squad discussing the question in detail. They're speaking too far away from the phone, so I can't hear anything clearly, but it sounds like they're agreeing on whatever they're talking about.

"Boss, at this time, we just don't know. Since it's Friday night, we may not hear back from Kat's carrier until Monday-" Brett begins to explain, but Ranger silences him with a sharp click of his tongue.

"Can't Zero just hack the system?"

"I could, but it will still take time. And, I'm helping Brett with the panic button watches, as well as staying on standby with Hector in case the asswipe calls Kat tonight. If he does, I'm going to start working on tracing the call, so hopefully we can bypass all of this and get his location that way instead."

"OK Zero, but if he doesn't call in the next hour, I want you working on hacking her carrier." Ranger counters, and then continues, "Now, about those watches. When will they be completed?"

"We will have Kat's done by Monday. I'll have the boys' finished by Wednesday." Brett jumps back into the conversation.

"Do you still need Zero's help?"

"No Boss, I can handle the rest of it on my own."

"Anything else?" Ranger checks with the guys at Haywood. Again, there's muffling as they check with each other.

"_No Bossman, that's all for now. I wish it were more_." Hector answers Ranger. Whatever he said causes Ranger to disconnect the phone. Checking his laptop for a couple of items, he motions for Cal and Woody to come over to our booth.

"The technological details are being looked into, now, does anyone have anything else on their agenda that they feel needs to be looked into at this moment?" Ranger asks, gazing intently at all of us. Sally shifts uncomfortably in his seat, and then clears his throat.

"I have a suggestion." He starts, and Ranger motions him to continue. "I know that Stephanie lives at Haywood, but since I don't have a life or anything like that…well, other than the occasional band session and the usual bullshit, I was thinking that maybe I could crash at Haywood, just so Kat has a friend?" He rambles out.

"You want to stay at Kat's?" Ranger examines.

"Err, no, I don't think that would be a good idea, but, I just think she may want someone there that she knows, but if you don't think it's a good a idea then that's OK. It was just a thought, a quick dumbass thought. I just want Kat to be comfortable, and guess that maybe if I was nearby, it could be easier for her. But, I don't know, and I actually don't even know her so really it's not a great suggestion at all-"

"Holy diarrhea from the mouth, Sally." I interrupt, and he looks away blushing.

"No, Sally, it's a good idea. Which one of you will he be staying with?" Ranger challenges his employees. Now, it's Cal and Woody's turn to shift uncomfortably, pointedly not meet Ranger or Sally's eyes. Bobby just smiles.

"He can stay at my place, Ranger. No problem. I have a second room for my office anyway, so he can stay in there for the interim." Bobby states, and I give him a warm smile, while relief floods Sally's face.

Lester's voice crackles over the intercom, "We'll be landing shortly. Please make sure you are buckled in. Skies are clear, so we should have a smooth landing. See you all in about 5 minutes." The intercom crackles one more time, but Lester doesn't talk again, and I feel the jet begin to descend.

Staring out the window, I try to find the Gateway Arch. Ranger looks at me and smirks at me.

"It's about 15 miles that way." Ranger knowingly tells me, motioning behind us.

"Do you think we can go see it while we're here?" I ask, even though I know that we most likely won't have the time to visit it.

"Just a drive by or do you want to tour the museum on the Grounds and take the elevator up through the Arch?" He questions.

"I guess I just want to see it, so the drive by would be fine."

"I think we can make that happen." Ranger replies leaning in to give me a kiss, and I feel the wheels touching down onto the runway. St. Louis it's time to meet the Bombshell Bounty Hunter, RangeMan bad asses extraordinaire, and a bitchin' rock n' roll transvestite! Please God, don't let me blow up the Arch!


	9. Ch 9 - Steph's POV

**_Disclaimer: All characters that you recognize belong to Janet Evanovich. Not making any money, just writing this story for my own amusement. Couple of OCs will be present in this story._**

**_Rated M, adults will act like adults. There may be smut, but since I've never written it, I can't guarantee it will be any good._**

**_Also, there may be spoilers from the actual novels, sorry for not warning sooner._**

* * *

**Chapter 9**

**October 20, 2011 2430 CST  
**

**Steph's POV**

"Babe. Babe wake up. We're here." Ranger says, gently shaking me out of my sleep. I don't remember anything after we got the two Explorers at an airport rental agency. Blushing slightly, I realize that he must have picked me up to put me into the car, because I don't remember moving from the chair in the agency's waiting area.

"Did I miss anything?"

"Well, it's 12:30, Dudette, so I'm going to go ahead and say a no to that." Sally says and then yawns while stepping out of the SUV and stretching. I follow suit and look over to the house we are standing outside of on the street. Her house is in the corner of a cul-de-sac, and the surrounding homes are quiet and dark, while Kat's seems to have all of the lights on inside.

"Babe, Sally, go ahead and meet with Kat first. I think having a friend and a woman will be easier on her to see first, and the rest of us will come up to introduce ourselves after." Ranger recommends, and I nod in agreement.

Grabbing Sally by the hand, he and I make our way up the driveway. Looking down, the light from the house shows that the drive is completely covered with chalk artwork. Some of it, clearly the doodles of young kids, but other drawings have been done by someone who looks to be an exceptional artist. Smiling to myself, I notice that slightly to the left of where we're standing, there's a yellow brick road pathway leading up to the house. Smiling at the Oz reference, we continue our way up to the front door, using the yellow brick road.

Knocking on the door, I attempt to listen for footsteps, but there aren't any to be heard. I do hear however, Kat unlocking the door and slowly cracking it open. Peeking an eye out at us at first, Sally and I both give her a polite finger wave.

"Sally!" She exclaims, hastily opening the door the rest of the way, and then stopping to look up at Sally in shock. "Holy hell dude, you're much taller than I thought!" She notices. Sally gives her a wide smile.

"It's the shoes. And the fact that you're a midget." Sally jokingly replies and Kat looks down at his platform heels with mild amusement.

"Hey! Why on earth do you need those beasts on? You're like a giant!" She banters back, and then directs her attention onto me. "Stephanie, it's nice to meet you in person. Damn, you're tall too. What do they feed you all in Jersey?"

"It's also mostly the shoes, and please, just call me Steph." I smile back, and she moves slightly to the side, giving us unspoken access to her home. I watch as her eyes get large, going from playful to fearful, looking past me. Craning my neck back over my shoulder, I see Ranger and the other guys behind us, slightly in the shadows.

"Kat." Ranger begins, stepping forward first. While he may be shorter than Sally, especially when Sally is in his current shoes, Ranger is still six foot, and with his muscles, he's entirely more intimidating than Sally could ever be. "This is Bobby Brown and Lester Santos from the video conferences earlier, and this is Cal Sanders, and Woody Dafoe." Ranger finishes.

"Ranger. Everyone, hi! Welcome to my home." Kat addresses Ranger comfortably, regaining her confidence back. She ushers us all in, but I notice she flinches when Cal accidentally brushes into her shoulder to get in the house.

As I make my way into her living room, I take a look back at her. Kat's hidden behind the others, relocking her door, but when she comes back into view, I notice that she really is a very small woman. Although Sally joked about her being size, she's only around 5 feet tall. And, while she's thin and only has slight curves, she doesn't look unhealthy, just petite. Her multi-colored hair is pulled up in a messy bun, and the only jewelry she has on are piercings in her face and ears. Her pajamas are a fitted red top with the word 'Bazinga!' on it and red and black flannel pants. The pants are way too long for her, and she's walking on the frayed bottoms of them. Although she looks comfortable, she also looks tired. Light purple circles are beginning to be visible underneath her eyes.

"Anyone want any coffee? Or water? Or soda?" Kat asks, being a good hostess.

"Sit your butt down girl; I'm sure we can manage on our own." Sally replies back, grabbing her hand and to bring her into the living room with me. She reluctantly follows, and I take a seat on one of the couches with Bobby and Cal. Sally sits down in a recliner, and Kat sits in front of him on a foot rest. Woody and Lester take the final couch, while Ranger leans up against a nearby wall next to a large unlit fish tank, his eyes gazing sharply around the room at us.

"OK, for sleeping arrangements. I have the master available; two guest bedrooms, one up here and one in the basement; and three couches, two up here and one downstairs. Also, I have an air mattress that we can pull out if needed. I hope that will be OK." Kat quietly brings up before the silence becomes awkward.

"You don't have to give up your room, Kat." I respond. Kat gives me a quick, sad smile.

"I don't sleep in there, not after what happened." I nod and continue looking around the living room. Focusing my gaze onto the tank near Ranger, I see something scurry quickly into a cave on the bottom of the tank.

"Is that Cthulhu?" Kat looks over at where I'm staring, grins broadly and nods.

"Yes it is. Normally he's out and about."

"Ranger scaring him?" I ask, smirking over at him.

"Probably not. Octopi are actually really inquisitive creatures. Here, let me toss some food into him so you can see him." She smiles, moving from the footrest over to where Ranger is standing. We all stand up and gather around here.

"Woah! Live shrimp?" I inquire, as she picks up a couple, opens up a small door on top of the tank and tosses them in. Kat grabs another creature to put into the tank as well. From his hiding place in the cave, I notice Cthulhu slowly move out using his long arms, stalking a shrimp that's swimming nearby. Striking out, he catches the shrimp and drags it quickly back to the cave. He does this over and over again, and then latches onto the side of the tank with the suction cups on his arms.

"Pretty blue eyes." I distractedly say, staring at Cthulhu, and Kat shakes her head smiling.

"Those are just spots. Cthulhu is a Bimac, or Californian Two-Spot octopus. Those spots are false eyes, protection for his actual eyes against predators."

"He's really creepy looking." Kat shakes her head in disagreement at my assessment.

"Or very adorable, depending on how you look at it." She amends. I just smile at her, keeping my eyes on her pet. He's moving along the side of the tank, halfway up from the bottom. It looks like he's watching us. And people think Rex is a weird pet to have.

"Anyway, let me show you guys around a little bit. Who wants the master bedroom?" I look over at Ranger, he nods, so I raise my hand.

"Ranger and I will take it."

"Okie dokie, right this way." We all follow her, Ranger grabbing our bags, and she leads us down a hallway towards a room with its door closed. Opening the door, we walk into a room with dark gray walls and several large paintings on them. The canvases' backgrounds are the same gray, and the monsters depicted on them look to be done in quick, messy brush strokes. The one near her bed is the largest, and it looks like an evil, winged octopus coming out of an ocean.

"That's actually Cthulhu, well, my version of Him." Kat says, noticing what I'm looking at.

"I take back my earlier judgment of your pet. This dude is very creepy. Your Cthulhu is downright adorable by comparison." Kat laughs at that, and Ranger drops our bags at the foot of the bed.

"Are you guys heading to bed?" Kat questions, but Ranger shakes his head.

"If you have a little bit more energy, let's meet up and go over everything quickly."

"OK, well, let's show everyone else where they'll be staying so we can talk. I'm pretty tired. Who wants the wonder living room couches?" Kat enthusiastically asks, as she moves down the hall to the next bedroom.

"I will." Sally and Bobby at the same time, and then glare at each other. Since none of the other guys offer, I guess they'll be out there.

"Perfect. Who wants this room?" Kat continues on, opening another door that we are standing outside of.

"Oh, me me me me!" Lester announces hastily, pushing his way forward to move inside the bedroom. Kat smiles at him, and he drops his bag onto the bed. As we shuffle around each other to head back into the living room, Bobby and Sally both put their bags down, and we make our way down the stairs into the basement.

It's fully finished, and without her having to ask, Woody walks over to the white leather couch and puts his bag down. I can understand why. While it may be a full length couch, Cal is well over six feet tall, and much larger than Woody, and I doubt he'd be able to sleep comfortably on it. Kat moves over to a door that's behind a kitchenette, and we follow. Inside is a king sized bed that's covered with a flower print quilt. I can't help the laugh that bubbles up out of my throat as Cal puts his black bag onto it.

"Watch it, Little Girl." He growls at me and Kat shrinks away from him. Ranger notices her quick movement and gives Cal a menacing stare. Cal visibly pales, shrinking almost smaller than Kat in the process. Regaining her composure, Kat moves back to the door and out of the room.

"OK, sleeping arrangements are done. Let's go ahead and meet, because honestly, I'm getting more exhausted by the minute." She apologizes and heads back up into the living room. We all follow her and retake our earlier seats.

"Kat, where will you be sleeping?" I ask, noticing that she hasn't mentioned where she has been sleeping, only that she doesn't sleep in her bedroom anymore. She points to where Sally is sitting.

"Been sleeping in the recliner." She clarifies, and then switches her gaze onto Ranger. "So, what's up?" Before he can tell her our plans to help her, a cell phone on the coffee table starts to ring. Kat looks at it and I see the fear that flashes in her eyes.

"It's gotta be him." Kat whispers. Ranger stalks over to the phone, answering it and putting it on speakerphone. Prompting her with a nod of his head, Kat whispers a shaky hello into the phone.

"Hello my favorite whore. How are you this splendid morning?" A slightly clipped sounding voice replies. Out of the corner of my eyes, I see that Lester is placing a call, silently moving out of the room. No doubt calling Hector to confirm the calls being traced. I think to myself, covering my mouth to make sure I don't say anything aloud.

"Guess what I found for you today, my darling?" He asks, that altered voice sounding almost perky.

"Wh-what?" Kat tentatively asks.

"I'll give you hint? It's made of metal and has really nice upholstery in it. And almost everyone gets one sometime in their life." He taunts.

"I already have a car, thanks though." Kat snipes back.

"It's not a car, you little bitch!" The rapist snaps at her. "It's your fucking coffin." Hearing that, Kat stifles a scream, and I see tears streaming down her face.

Moving from my spot, I go over to her and hold her hand. She looks down at it, and then up at me, gripping onto me tightly, as if I'm her last lifeline. Up close, I see all of the panic in her pale blue, tired eyes, slightly puffy from the tears that are rapidly falling.

At this point in the call, Lester makes his way back to us and shakes his head, looking at Kat with regret. Seeing this, Ranger closes the phone, hanging up on the rapist.

"Sorry, he blocked his number this time around. Bones and Zero couldn't get an effective trace on him. Don't worry, we won't let him get you Kat." Lester promises her and Kat just nods in his direction, looking down at our intertwined hands, she removes hers and hugs herself.

"Can we please talk later in the morning. I just really want to go to sleep now." Kat quietly pleads, looking up at Ranger. He's quiet for a minute, and it looks like he push her tonight to go over some of the plan, so I hastily answer for us.

"Of course, sweetie! We'll talk later after we've all have had a good rest." I say, giving Ranger one of my Burg glares, and he gives me a slight nod, agreeing to not argue.

"Great! Sally, get out of my bed." Kat attempts to joke moving from her seat into the hallway, and coming back a minute later with a pile of blankets and pillows. "Here you guys go, for those sleeping on couches." Kat explains, handing Bobby, Sally and Woody the items in her arms. They all nod their thanks.

With that, we all say good night, and Ranger and I make our way to the master bedroom.

"Poor Kat." I quietly say, as Ranger closes the bedroom door. "Will we be able to trace the calls if he's blocking the number now?"

Ranger nods his head. "It'll be a challenge, and we'll need some different software, but it's possible." He replies and leans in, giving me a passionate kiss. It doesn't move past toe-curling before he pulls his lips away from mine. Looking down at me, he gives me one of his full on smiles. "I love you Babe." He expresses, his voice husky with passion.

Unfortunately as is the case with many of our kisses, I seem to lose my voice, and I'm not able to respond in kind. He just gives me a smug look, and I give him the bird. He knows how I feel.

Stepping away from him, I open my bag and grab out pajamas. He does the same, but instead of just silk boxers, he grabs out a pair of sleep pants. I attempt to quirk an eyebrow at him, but I know that both jump up.

"Just in case Kat comes in. I don't want anything escaping during the rest of the night." Ranger deadpans, and I look down at exactly what could escape from his boxers. Just thinking about his wonderful package, as my grandma would call it, causes my face to flush. Ranger notices my look, and gives me another smirk. "Not tonight Babe, I have a headache." He jokes, and I lightly slap his arm.

Climbing into Kat's bed, I look at my phone for the time. It's 2 am. I can't believe so much has happened in the past twelve hours, and if my spidey sense is telling me anything at all, I know that there won't be many dull days in my future while we're helping Kat.


	10. Ch 10 - Ranger & Bobby's POVs

**_Disclaimer: All characters that you recognize belong to Janet Evanovich. Couple of OCs will be present in this story._**

**_Rated M, this story will have depictions of sexual violence, physical violence, crude language, and possible smut. If any of this offends you, please avoid this story._**

**_There may be spoilers from the novels 1-18._**

* * *

**Chapter 10**

**October 20, 2011 0600 CST  
**

**Ranger's POV**

Hearing the alarm on my watch, I swiftly turn it off and shift out from underneath Steph's warm, delicious body. While it's only 0600, my day has officially started without me. I woke earlier, but my body wasn't willing to move away from Steph. Looking down at her sleeping, peaceful form, I contemplate whether to skip a workout today, but knowing that my body will rebel against me if I did, I drag myself away from my temptress.

Quietly, I move about Kat's bedroom, efficiently throwing on my gym clothes and running shoes. Afterwards, I walk down the hallway to where Lester's sleeping and slip silently into the bedroom. He's sound asleep and his subconscious doesn't even recognize that another person come into the room with him. Not good. He should be uncomfortable at my being here. He should be waking up to figure out what's causing the discomfort. But he's not, and that's unacceptable. Stepping lightly up the side of his bed, I take a jab at his shoulder.

"Huh, wha-?" Lester groans, attempting to become alert out of his haze of sleep. At least he goes for his gun underneath the pillow, although the look he's giving me, still causes me to shake my head in disgust at him.

"You'd be dead, if I were an enemy." I sneer at him. Lester, looking amazingly similar to Steph, rolls his eyes at me, and that disrespect causes me to punch him in the jaw, before stepping away from the bed. Smugly grinning at him, I watch as Lester's face changes lazy from sleep to irate.

"Get ready. We're going for a run." I command and leave the room, before he can start fuming at the cheap shot.

Heading into the living room, I hear Sally a moment before I see him. His mouth is open, and he's snoring loudly. I look over at Bobby and grin at the fact that not only is he awake, but he's staring daggers at Sally. He switches his focuses onto me as soon as I step fully into the room. At least one of my partners is alert and aware at his surroundings.

"Brown."

"Ranger." He tersely replies. Removing the blanket from his waist, I see that he's already dressed. Giving him a raised eyebrow, he glares over at Sally again. "He's been snoring since 0400. So, I've been up since 0400. Took a run and came back, already showered and dressed." He says, speaking slightly lower to be respectful of the two sleeping people in the room.

"And Kat?" I question looking over at her on the recliner. She is sleeping in a bizarre twisted form. Her legs are curled up underneath her, and instead of leaning the recliner back, she has her head on the side of one of the arms. Her position reminds me of her namesake. Bobby's eyes wander to where I'm staring, and I see him smiling, watching her, when I refocus my attention onto him.

"Yeah, she hasn't moved from that spot since we got out here. Sally actually made fun of the position, and she asked if he wanted the recliner instead. Shut him right up. I contemplated moving her for a second, but I didn't want to wake her and scare her. She seems comfortable enough."

"Did she talk about anything after we went to bed?" I question, but Bobby shakes his head no. Before he can answer me, Lester steps into the living room. Seeing Kat, he barks out a sharp laugh. While it isn't enough to wake up Sally, I watch Kat tense and then slit her eyes open. She looks at us, but her eyes aren't focusing onto us. They're seeing something else, and it's terrifying her. She starts shaking, and if it's possible, balls herself up further, making herself even smaller.

"Hey Kat, it's Ranger, Lester and Bobby." I remind her, and she visibly relaxes. Changing her position, and again reminding me of a cat, she stretches and climbs out of the recliner.

"Err, sorry, I should've realized it was just you guys." She mumbles, her face blushing in embarrassment. Before I have a chance to ask her what scared her, she speaks again. "You guys hungry?" She asks. Lester looks like he's about to answer, but I catch his gaze and give him a quick shake of my head.

"We're heading out for a run, but Bobby will be here, and Cal and Woody are downstairs." I discuss with her, and she nods.

"OK, well then, Bobby, come on into the kitchen with me, and we'll start getting breakfast together." She grins wickedly at him and bounces out of the room. After she's out of hearing, Bobby groans but has a genuine smile on his face. I watch him quickly jump up and follow her into the kitchen.

Looking over at Lester, I see confusion on his face. "Bobby's going to cook? Our breakfast?" He asks me.

"Most likely Kat's going to cook, and Bobby will just help." I reply, heading towards the front door.

"But what if she makes him cook? You do remember Iraq, 2000 right? Bobby cooked. We all got food poisoning. I was hospitalized…in fucking Iraq…in a dirty, underground clinic to keep from getting killed!" Lester bitterly answers.

"That was years ago, I'm sure he's a better cook now."

"You really wanna chance it? Beautiful will be eating whatever's cooked, you know that." He warns. Thinking over the consequence of Steph getting food poisoning versus leaving the situation alone, I make my way towards the kitchen. Leaning up against the door of the entryway, I hear Bobby warning Kat about the same story to which she's laughing at him, an honest carefree laugh. Through breaths between her laughing, I hear her say something along the lines of just watching. Not feeling the need to interrupt, I go back to the front door where Lester is standing.

"It's handled." I tell him, smirking, and we make our way out into the crisp morning air.

* * *

**Bobby's POV**

Sitting on a stool by the island after warning Kat about my lack of cooking skills, she continues to laugh and walks over to the fridge. I watch her take out eggs and bacon, my gaze dropping below her waist, staring at her completely covered, non-existent backside. Dammit Brown, eyes front and center! I chastise myself but stare a moment longer before complying.

"So Kat, how are you doing with all of this?" I tentatively bring up. Although the mood is light, and I don't want to bring it down, I want to gauge where her mind is with what has happened and what may still happen to her. She pauses for a second, and then starts cracking the eggs open. A couple of minutes go by without her reply, and I assume she isn't going to answer.

"I'm scared, of course. But not just for me. I think most people lie when they say they aren't afraid to die, and I'm not going to pretend like that thought doesn't scare me, but I'm more worried about what will happen to the boys, you know?" She finally begins talking, looking up at me to see if she has my attention. I nod for her to continue.

"They're grandfather, the one who's been coming and helping me out, Mitch, he has major health issues. Had opened heart surgery last year, his cholesterol's high, blood pressure's high, he eats like he's going to die tomorrow, and for all I know, he might. He wouldn't be able to keep up with two active seven year olds. Hell, I can barely keep up with them. Their uncles, my other brother Patrick and his partner, Jason have a little girl, Claire. She's 10. Now, I'm sure they could take Ezra and Zeke, but it would be a burden on them. So who else? My mom, she's a hippie and living in Nevada. We talk to her once a year. The boys actually haven't met her. My dad? At least he's healthy, but he's ten years older than Mitch, so who knows how much longer before his age starts getting to his body?"

She pauses to catch her breath. "Ezra and Zeke, need me to survive this, both physically and emotionally. I can't fail them. I can't have them see another parental figure die on them. Not yet, it's too soon." She finishes, her voice catching at the end with emotion.

Slowly moving over to her to avoid startling her, I stand in front of this petite, strong woman. She cranes her neck to stare up at me, and I see every doubt and fear she has. She truly believes she may not make it out of this. No matter how hard she fights, she's afraid it won't be enough. I'm afraid it won't be enough too. I whisper my concern to myself.

But I do the only thing I can for her, I lean down and give her a light hug, tightening my arms around her slightly when she doesn't flinch away, although I almost flinch at a shock that passes between our bodies. Pushing my hormonal desires aside at having a beautiful woman in my arms, forcing my body to realize that there is nothing sexual about our embrace, my heart breaks slightly as she starts to cry. Emotions causing her to shake in my arms for about five minutes, she begins to settle down, hiccupping her final tears away and then timidly giggles out her nerves.

"Sorry for falling apart." She apologizes, attempting to move out of my arms, but I continue to hug her, not ready to release her.

"I've seen worse breakdowns…hell, I've had worse breakdowns." I joke giving her another quick squeeze in the hug, wanting to pass comfort to her, but feeling another shock pass between us instead. This time, I feel her flinch, but I'm not sure if it's from my embrace or the shock. Nervously, I step back, allowing her space if it's my closeness that's bothering her. If it's the electricity that past between us, well I have no idea how to handle that either. She's one of your best friend's ex-girlfriends...I glumly warn my body and my mind, and watch her go back to cooking breakfast.

"Are you seeing someone to help you with what you're going through?" I question, reigning in my desires and attempting to get her talking again.

"Yeah, and I'll need to find someone in Trenton. My doctor gave me a couple of people to look up."

"Got a list?" I ask, hoping to help with this part. She nods and steps away from the food. She walks over to a counter near where the garage must be, and digs through a giant bag. Pulling out a binder, she opens it up. From my seat, I can see it's extremely messy. Pages are stuffed into the sides and a couple of smaller pieces of paper fall out to the floor, but she seems to be able to navigate it. Pulling out a page from the back sleeve, grabbing up the ones that had fallen, she brings the list over to me.

Glancing at the names, I notice there are a mixture of men and women on the list. Some I recognize, others I know personally, and a few I would recommend she never go to.

"Do you have a preference on the doctor's sex?" Blushing, Kat nods.

"I'd prefer to stick with a woman." She hesitantly answers me, and I nod back.

"Well, Dr. Angelica Giovanni is great, specializing in women's abuse, and she's on your list. In Trenton too. Some of these are in Newark or even Princeton. I know I'd rather you stay in Trenton." I reply to her, handing back the list.

She looks at Dr. Giovanni's name, nods and takes a highlighter, marking her name with an elegant star. At the bottom of the page, still using the highlighter, she adds another star, with 'Bobby's choice, call her' next to it. Smiling to myself, I'm extremely happy that she's choosing to go with my suggestion.

A loud noise in the living room shifts my attention away from Kat, and I instantly have my gun out. Positioning myself between the kitchen's entryway and Kat, I make my way out into the living room. Briefly allowing my eyes to take in the room, they end at the couch Sally's sleeping on. Holstering my pistol, I watch as two young boys sitting on Sally's chest and legs, bounce.

Behind me, Kat slides up and maneuvers herself around me, slightly brushing past to take in the scene, again that spark passing through us.

"Oh shi-shoot, Sally, I'm sorry. Guys get off him!" She says through giggles and the boys look up at her, smiling wider, and we hear Sally mumbling something, most likely a few expletives.

"Aunt Kat! Aunt Kat! Mr. Sally's here!" One of the boys exclaims and starts bouncing again.

"Ezra, stop! Both of you, off him now!" Kat commands her voice changing from fun aunt to authority figure, and the boys obey quickly. Ezra, the one on the left has a bright red Mohawk and Zeke's is dark green. I look at her quizzically, and she just smirks at me. "They love looking 'freaky' like their Aunt Kat, and it washes out. Win win." She states and heads back into the kitchen, with me and her two 'heathens' following.

"Little Dudes, what would you like to eat?" She asks, once we're all back in the kitchen, sans Sally.

"Pancakes!" They answer simultaneously, and she just nods at them. I move back to my spot at the island, and the two boys climb up on either side of me.

"Who are you?" Ezra asks.

smile at both her and then the boys.

"I'm Bobby."."

"Are you here to take us on an adventure?" Zeke asks.

"Huh?" I idiotically reply.

"You'll be taking us and Cthulhu to the airport! We'll be leaving Missouri for the first time!" Ezra explains, and I nod.

"Yep, that's what I'm here for." I agree with them. They both look excitedly at me, before turning their attention back to their aunt.

"Can we go out?" Ezra and Zeke ask tag teaming her by moving up to either side of her.

I almost laugh at the picture. Although Kat is taller than them, they look like they're only a foot shorter. But, with their Mohawks, the height difference looks even less.

"Sure, after breakfast." With that, Ezra and Zeke run out of the kitchen. "Wait!" Kat calls out, and they both turn back towards her. "Stay upstairs. You've already woken up Sally but there are two men downstairs-"

"No ma'am, we're up now." Woody drawls entering the kitchen with Cal.

Behind them, I hear the front door open and see Ranger and Lester walk past the kitchen's now crowded entryway. They acknowledge us with nods, but continue on their way to clean up.

"So, if they're up here, can we go downstairs?" Ezra asks, eyeing the two newest additions coming into the kitchen.

"You have a tattoo like Aunt Kat!" Zeke blurts out, and she laughs.

"Oh no sweetie, he has a cool flaming skull on his forehead, but mine's an adorable rendition of a Jolly Roger. Totally different." She corrects Zeke. "And yes, you can go downstairs."

"Did it hurt?" Zeke asks Cal, still looking at the tattoo, while Ezra runs off.

"Not much." Cal quietly replies and Zeke gives him another long look. Shrugging his shoulders, he runs off after his brother.

"Cute kids." I say, and Kat rolls her eyes at me.

"OK, eggs and bacon are done, get some, grab a drink and go sit down" She instructs us, and we all quickly get our breakfast together. I take my spot back at the island, close to Kat and she smiles broadly at me. I notice that Cal's glaring at me, but I ignore him. I'm not doing anything wrong. I think to myself. Kat steps away, grabbing a plate for herself and then situates herself next to me at the island.

When the pancakes are done, she calls down for the boys. They rush up, grab their plates and glasses of juice, and then walk slowly back down into the basement. After they leave, Sally comes in looking exhausted.

"How are you guys awake? It's like 8 am!" He grumbles and looks at the food dismissively. Grabbing a mug that Kat pulled out, he makes his way groggily to the coffee machine.

"Good morning Sally!" Kat smiles up at him, playfully hip checking him as we walks past her. His attitude quickly changes from groggy with sleep to fun loving, and he tugs gently on a strand of her hair. It looks silky, not dry or fried looking. I wonder how she keeps it so healthy. I wonder what it would feel like to run my hands through-. Stopping myself mid thought, I force my focus back onto the room.

"Is everything real?" Sally asks, and I look down at my plate, and then up to Kat giving her a questioning look.

"Yes." Noticing my look, God, she's got to think I'm an idiot, constantly confused. Hearing confirmation, Sally loads up a plate and sits next to me on the island. Adding for my benefit, she explains, "Sally knows I'm a vegetarian. Guess he thought it was tofu or something."

Soon after Sally sits down, Lester makes his way into the kitchen, hair still wet from his shower. Grabbing a plate, he stops when he notices aren't many seats available, so I give up mine for him, but I stand at the edge of the island, taking in Kat's appearance.

She's still in her pajamas from earlier, the word 'Bazinga!' on the shirt. I wonder what that's from? I think to myself.

Starting at her ears, I take in the multiple earrings. Unlike most women, she's not wearing any that dangle. The three in the top part of each ear are silver hoops, and they're plain and small. The other three studs are geeky. I recognize Tetris as her heart earrings and those studs are closer to the bottom hoops. Below them are little '1 UP' mushrooms from Mario, and the last ones on her lobe say 'POW!' and 'BAM!'.

Moving to her face, I see that she has two silver hoops through her nose's right nostril. Past her nose, I stare at her lips. God those lips are kissable. They're full and naturally pouty. I can feel my eyes glazing over at picturing her lips on mine. Mentally shaking my head, I refocus on tagging her piercings.

I notice that she is missing a few lip rings today. During the Skype call, she clearly had three rings in her lower lip. Today, she only has one in the middle and a sparkly stud in the upper left side of her top lip. I also know that when she laughs loudly, although it's only been a couple of times, she has two tongue piercings. One where I've always seen it, and another, a hoop on the tip. I wonder if that makes kissing challenging?…Dammit Brown, quit thinking about kissing her.

Moving down to her arms, I see they're both completely covered with tattoos. Her right arm is covered with Alice and Wonderland related tattoos on her forearm, a wide grinning Cheshire cat covers her elbow. Up past the elbow joint, partially covered by the shirt's sleeve, I see what looks be a collage of Winnie the Pooh characters, Care Bears, and other miscellaneous other colorful things. Her left arm, while still covered with cartoony items, looks more adult oriented. On this arm there is a collage of Nightmare Before Christmas where Winnie the Pooh and company are on the right arm. This collage is much bigger and goes past her elbow, melding into a Labyrinth inspired forearm tattoo.

Before I can travel further down, I hear someone clear their throat behind me. Jumping, I turn to see Ranger and Steph walking into the kitchen. Ranger's giving me a disapproving look, and I slightly shrug my shoulders as a response. Sneaking glances at everyone else, they all look clueless at my gawking, which is a relief. Bad enough Ranger thinks I'm openly checking her out. It's not like I'm Santos, I wouldn't make her uncomfortable by making any passes. I'm not a creep.

"What's on the agenda today?" Kat asks taking me out of my thoughts.

"Packing." Ranger answers as he and Steph grab breakfast, taking it to the table. Kat looks like she wants to roll her eyes at his response, but stops herself.

"And you said to pack for a few months?"

"Correct."

Kat looks thoughtful for a second, walks over to the entryway and looks out; I'm guessing looking for her nephews.

"Okie dokie, that works for me. So, next item on my agenda anyway before we get down to serious business, who wants to come to Iron Age with me around noon today?"

"What's Iron Age?" Steph asks, and Kat gives her a quirky smirk.

"A tattoo studio." She promptly replies. Steph raises both eyebrows up in question, and Kat's smile turns into a wicked sneer.

"We haven't talked about it yet, but the reason that bastard took me and the others are because we changed our bodies. The other women honestly all looked a bit like Barbie, you know, bleach blond hair, very thin but statuesque. Each one had at least a major boob job, but I know Erica had a nose job. Natasha looked like she had something done with her lips as well…I'm the only one that I would consider normal looking, if you don't count my tattoos and piercings."

"So, you're getting another tattoo?" Steph inquires.

"Yep in spite of that son of a bitch! Going to get a teal ribbon tattooed on my left ankle." Lifting up her pant leg, she points to the spot, "See that humming bird's flower, see how the stem kinda ends up by my ankle, that's where I'm going to incorporate some leaves or something, and then have the ribbon interweaving through the leaves wrapping around ankle. Should be cool." Kat excitedly explains, the passion she has for her tattoos and this future tattoo obvious.

"What's the teal ribbon stand for?" Lester jumps in, questioning.

"Honestly? It's got several different meanings. But both ovarian cancer awareness and sexual assault awareness use it. I mean, even though I already have a tattoo for surviving my cancer, it's personal and doesn't really indicate what type of cancer I survived. It'll be good to get this tattoo. Like one pretty badge of survival."

"I know Sally mentioned it, but I guess I didn't think about it really, you're only 29. Was it hard to go through, being so young?" Back to Steph again, asking the question. I feel like I'm in a tennis tournament with all of this bouncing back and forth.

"Yeah, it was tough, but that's a story for another day, really. Although when that asshole saw the scars from the surgery he asked about them. When I told him, well with Stage 2, both ovaries had signs of cancer, so the docs got rid of them plus my uterus. Oh as soon as he heard that, he got inhumanly brutal. Started punching me in the stomach and chest, and choking me, saying I wasn't even a real woman anymore. He said I should've done the honorable thing and died. Instead of living as a harlot, lying to men about what I am. I really thought he was going to kill me right then." Kat tells us, becoming quieter with each sentence, tears shining in her eyes.

I'm seeing red. I know this guy's insane…demented…evil…but how could he think she's not a woman anymore? How sick do you have to be to jump to that conclusion, to think someone should die instead of using medicine to their advantage?

I look around gauging the reactions of my partners and co-workers upon hearing this. Ranger's jaw is twitching with anger, although his blank face is firmly in face. Woody is openly livid, his blank face seemingly long gone. Lester and Cal both have their blank faces firmly in place, but they too are working their jaws. Neither has Ranger's control though, so their anger is clearly visible by the fists at their sides.

Steph quickly makes her way to Kat and gives her a comforting hug. I hear her whispering, but I don't know what she's saying. Whatever it is, though, it's calming Kat down. Sally slides up next to them and puts his arm around Kat. A flare of jealousy rises up, as I watch her lean into him, but I choke it back down.

Ranger gives Kat a couple more minutes to pull herself together, and then clears his throat.

"I know that this is hard Kat, but we didn't get a chance earlier this morning. Do you think you're up to going over the case?"

Kat moves out of both Steph's and Sally's arms, and squares her shoulders.

"I'm ready."


	11. Ch 11 - Steph's POV

**_Disclaimer: All characters that you recognize belong to Janet Evanovich. Couple of OCs will be present in this story._**

**_Rated M, this story will have depictions of sexual violence, physical violence, crude language, and possible smut. If any of this offends you, please avoid this story._**

**_There may be spoilers from the novels 1-18._**

* * *

**Chapter 11**

**October 20, 2011 0910 CST  
**

**Stephs's POV**

Kat actually wasn't as ready as she thought. So instead of going into the living room immediately to start our chit chat, she asked for twenty minutes for a shower. During her, Sally and I cleaned up the kitchen. Hey, I may not be much Suzy Homemaker, but I can wash the hell out of some dishes!

Now, we're all sitting in her living room, waiting. No one is talking, and I know that my moving around next to Ranger may be causing his jaw to twitch. Hearing a jingly sound, I perk up, stilling instantly. Striding quickly past us, Kat goes into her kitchen. She's the jingling noise that I'm hearing. Appraising her appearance, she's in a white floor length skirt and a blue tank top with a phone booth on it; also she's wearing a ton of jewelry. That's why she sounds like Jingle Bells. I think to myself.

In what I'm guessing is her norm, Kat jewelry consists of a multitude of metal bracelets going well past each wrist, five different necklaces, one much longer than the others dangling underneath her tank top, and on every finger, she has rings. Some gaudy and colorful, others look like they're just silver.

As she comes to a rest in front of Ranger and me, I see in her hands a binder and sketch pad. She hands over both to Ranger and sits back on the footrest in front of the recliner, once again being occupied by Sally.

"That sketch pad is the one I used to devote to sketching as many details as possible of his appearance. I never saw all of his face, because he kept a mask on, but I did draw the mask as well, in case it's unique or something like that." Kat explains, while motioning to the sketch pad now in Ranger's hands.

"And this?" Ranger inquires, holding up the binder that has papers that look like they're about to fall out of it.

"Miscellaneous things. The police report on the attack, the rape kit results…and the pictures, and then what research I could get about the other three women. Their obits, my notes when talking with their family members about the rapes and suicides. Things like that." Looking away from us, I see that her eyes are shining with unshed tears.

Ranger flips open the sketch pad and the first thing I see is a dark Dexter-esque type figure, with a crimson SV drawn in slashes on his extravagantly large muscle bound chest. His legs are drawn in tight black tights, and he has comically large combat boots on his feet. Although I can't see his face from how she's drawn it in the shadows, his eyes are bright red, slanting ominously out of them. Ranger, looking over at Kat, arches an eyebrow in silent question.

"Turn the page, that's just Super Villain. He's him, in comic form."

"You made him into a comic book character?" I ask, questioning her sanity.

"Well, no, I wouldn't actually put him in a comic book, that's just crazy. I couldn't sketch him at first, but when I turned him into Super Villain, it was easier. The other drawings are all actually him, to the best of my ability. I spent hours every day for the past two months on those details." Kat huffs out her frustrations at me, leaning over and flipping the page for us. Once she does, my breath catches.

Ranger looks at the sketches, his eyes widening minimally at the detail. That's of course, his form of shock. After briefly looking at the first page, he puts the sketch pad on the coffee table for everyone else to look at. Sally actually gets up and kneels in front of the coffee table to be closer.

The details she has sketched are amazing. The focus on the first page is on his eyes and eyebrows. Multiple sketches show how she worked to get the shape and the color of brown of the eyes right. Next, it looks like she focused on his eyebrow area pretty closely. At first, I don't understand why, but then I notice on his right brow, there's a small line. Squinting at it, I realize she was drawing a thin scar.

Ranger flips to the next page, and it's devoted to the rapist's lips, and while Ranger, the Merry Men, and Sally are looking at the sketches, I glance briefly over at Kat. She's sitting on the recliner, having taken Sally's seat, and her knees are up to her chest, her arms around them.

"Why didn't you draw his nose?" I ask, focusing my attention back onto the pages on the table, thinking that logically the nose would come before the lips.

"The mask covered it." She explains, her voice devoid of emotion. When I hear the lack of emotion, I look over to her again, and she I see how down she looks. It must've been so hard to draw him…and now, we're opening it up and looking at this monster in front of her. Although I feel horrible at looking, we have to.

We spend the next hour, going over the sketches. When we get to the body, she's also drawn this in detail. The man she depicts in these sketches is lean, and hard-muscled. If I didn't know this was the monster that hurt her, I would think that his body is pretty killer…but of course, it is. Reigning in my Hungarian hormones, I need a more realistic visual.

"Kat, if you had to pick one of the guys here who resembled his body size the most, who would it be?" I ask her, and she stares up at the ceiling in thought, then stares at each man sitting in the room, lingering on Lester, Woody and Sally for a moment longer than the rest.

"Hmm, I guess, maybe Lester's height, but more Woody's build, since he's a little leaner?" She replies to me. I nod at her and go back to examining the sketches.

"Do you mind if I pull out a few pages?" Ranger inquires. She shakes her head, and he pulls out a couple of the sketches, several in each section.

"Correct me at any time Kat," Ranger begins, looking at the pages he pulled. "But the man we're looking for is Caucasian, around 6', around 175-180 lbs, possibly more, brown eyes, and dark brown hair. Can you give us anything else? Did he have any other recognizable traits?"

"Umm, well, when he had his shirt off, I know you saw that in some sketches, he must have a scar on his chest, maybe from open heart surgery or something, because he kept a large covering over it at all times. I never saw what was underneath the bandage there."

"What about a tattoo?" I bring up, but Kat looks over at me quizzically.

"He hated my tattoos, why would he have one?"

"Cause he's a psychopath?" I counter, and Bobby nods his agreement.

"Kat, honestly, it seems like he has an ideal woman, and tattoos aren't in it, at least to the extreme that you have. But that's doesn't mean that he doesn't personally have or like tattoos." Bobby explains, gazing warmly at Kat.

"Cal, put these in our case folder, and then send Hector a brief update on what we know." Ranger commands and Cal takes the pages from the sketch pad, putting them in a file on the floor next to him. I didn't even notice that Cal had pulled the file out. Ranger would be so proud of my awareness. I grumble to myself.

"Now Kat, I want to go over our plans once we get you to Trenton." Ranger begins, "We'll have a panic button ready for you on Monday that will be hidden in a watch. The boys' will each have one as well by Wednesday. I'll also want you to carry a secondary panic button in your pocket. Unfortunately, because we don't know much, I'm going to ask that you stay in the building and not leave unless you first give at least one hour notice that you want to leave and two wait for your security detail of two men, or in some cases Steph and one other. I'm also asking that you not stay out of the building for a substantial length of time."

"So, I'm grounded?" Kat attempts to clarify. Hearing that I'd be stuck at Haywood would of had me in full rhino mode, but Kat's taking it all in stride.

"I will try to give you as much freedom as possible, but we don't know where this guy is. He's attacked in multiple cities and in multiple states. We don't know if he's still in St. Louis or has moved on and is planning on coming back to kill you. Until I can answer some of those questions, it would be better to stay indoors." Kat nods.

"No complaints. Hell, I'll never leave if it means I won't die." She says, half attempting a smile.

"You don't know how much I appreciate your calmness about this. A couple of women I know would not be willing to stay inside while we attempt to handle this." Ranger says, his eyes shifting to me with a smile hinting at his lips.

"Hey, bucko! I had bills to pay! I couldn't just stay locked-" I begin, taking offense at the light jab, but then realize something, "Kat, what do you do and will you be able to work while at RangeMan?"

"Oh, absolutely! I've sold my artistic soul. I'm a commissioned artist. My clients email me what they want, and if I like the sound of the project, I email them back with a contract. If it's acceptable, they send it back, signed. If not, sometimes we negotiate; sometimes we just go separate ways."

"Oh." I dumbly reply, and she cracks a grin.

"Will you need a place to work?" Ranger questions and Kat nods.

"When we get to Haywood, talk to Ella. You can use any conference room or available office." He confirms, and I smile at him. He's such a good man.

"Actually, there's a decent amount of space on the 3rd floor with me that I'm not using. She's welcome to it." Bobby offers, and Ranger eyes him for a moment. Finally nodding his agreement, Ranger places his attention back onto Kat.

"Do you have any questions or concerns on what we're doing for your safety?" Kat just shakes her head no.

"Next then, is how we're going to find him. We don't have much to go on yet, but we will use your research, especially on the other women to assist with finding him. It will take time. We will work on tracing his calls, as well as check for finger prints in your bedroom. Hopefully he made a mistake and we get a print. However, if we don't and he's not, the call tracing is our next quickest route. A team at Haywood, the Bug Squad, will be handling the technical side of this, is attempting to get in touch with your phone carrier to find out his. Once the Bug Squad gets that information, they plan on getting cell logs. These should have locations on where he's called from."

Taking a breath, Ranger continues, "Now, if he's smart, and we can guess that he is, he may not be using the phone in his home. Hopefully, he's using it nearby though or in a relative location, and we can start tracking him. That's where my team will come in, once we get a relative location. Steph will research residents in the area of the location for any violent or sexual offenders. Chances are, if he's doing it now, he's done it before and may have been caught. A team, lead by Lester or Tank, will take to the streets. We'll question and bribe for information. This morning, Lester did a little bit of that already."

With that bit of information, I look at my boyfriend, eyes narrowing.

"Babe, you were asleep." He mutters to me, when he sees my look. Before I can give him some damn good Jersey Girl attitude, Lester clears his throat.

"Kat, none of the neighbors have seen anything suspicious. They know what's happened to you and seem to be on an informal neighborhood watch. But there are no leads. I gave out my card, and hopefully, we'll get a call."

"Also, we want to bug and put cameras in your home while you're in Trenton. If he comes here, we want to catch him on camera, and again, hope that he makes a mistake." Woody adds to the conversation.

Kat looks at all of us, nodding but she's beginning to look overwhelmed, so I jump in.

"Look girl, these guys are the best. There's not much to work with yet, but you'll be safe and we will get him. We just need time."

"I know. I'm just jumpy and nervous at the moment. I just need to quit talking about this bastard for a bit, if that's OK?" Kat begs.

"We'll take a break. The rest can wait until we're back at Haywood."

Smiling her thanks at him, she adds, "Excellent! And guess what? It's 11:30! So it's almost tattoo time! Not that I was trying to rush the meeting to get there by noon or anything. Oh, I need to call Mitch and take the boys over there or he can come here, and then, who wants to come with me?" Kat rambles.

Looking around the room, I watch Sally's hand shoot up in the air, followed quickly by Lester's and Bobby's. I raise mine as well, having never seen a tattoo done, it should be interesting to watch.

"We'll stay here and work on bugging the place." Cal says, gesturing at Woody and himself.

"Ranger?" Kat asks, focusing her gaze onto him.

"I'll stay and supervise."

"Oh! And unless you want Mitch to come over, the boys can watch us bug the house and we'll watch them." Cal offers, and Woody scowls at him.

"Let me let the boys know, and then we can head out." She says to us, and then leaves the living room heading down to the basement.

Taking in my surroundings, I note that Cal and Woody have already begun discussing with Ranger where they will plant audio and video, and I watch him nod at their assessments. Bobby is sitting quietly, almost nervous, and Lester's grinning wide, shifting excitedly in his seat.

"I call shotgun." He exclaims, staring at Bobby, but I hear a snort behind him. Kat's back.

"Hmm, I wonder how we'll all fit the Prius?" She questions seriously.

"Woah, we can take an Explorer!" Lester quickly reminds Kat of the other vehicles.

"I don't really enjoy driving large vehicles." She explains, but Lester just smiles at her.

"That's OK, Bobby will drive."

"But then, I get shotgun." She states, causing Lester to look at her with a stunned expression.

"Uh, why do you get shotgun? You're so tiny. You can sit in back."

"True, but I'm claustrophobic and the front has more space, so I get the passenger seat." She innocently replies. Lester is about to disagree, but Ranger cuts him off.

"Santos, you're volunteering to stay here and help with planting the bugs." Ranger orders, and Kat looks at him, then back at Lester.

"Damn, I didn't mean to get him in trouble or anything, I can sit in the back, it'll be OK. Maybe I'll fall asleep, and then I won't even know-" Kat attempts to backtrack, but Ranger just raises an eyebrow at her.

"We need a fourth anyway." He stresses, effectively silencing Kat's apology.

"OK then, let's go lady and gentlemen!" She calls out to Sally, Bobby and me, and we head for the kitchen. Opening up a door to the garage, we see her vehicle. It's a gray Prius.

"Oh, you really do drive a Prius." I groan, as she walks to the driver's side.

"Hop in!" She directs us, and we do. Bobby takes the passenger side, and I sit behind him, allowing Sally to sit behind Kat for the extra leg room. Opening the garage, Kat backs out swiftly, and soon we're out of her neighborhood.

It's not long before the silence gets to be too much for me, and I look at Kat's profile. She doesn't seem to mind the silence, but I want to ask her something she hasn't asked about yet.

"Kat, do you want to know anything about Tank before seeing him again after all these years?" I begin, hoping to start a conversation with her on the subject.

I feel Bobby stiffen at the mention of Tank's name in front of me. Probably as annoyed with him at his treatment of her, as I am. I assume to myself. Continuing to watch Kat's profile, I notice no new tension. She just looks like she's thinking.

"Is he happy?" Not quite the question I'm expecting from her, but I answer honestly to her.

"I think so." Feeling the need to assert Lula's claim of him, I add, "He's engaged."

"Oh! Very good." She replies, and again, it's the what I'm expecting.

"Do you want to know anything else?" I try again, and Kat stares at me through the rear view mirror.

"Nah, I'm good. If he's engaged, hopefully that means I don't have to deal with any added awkward bullshit." Bullshit? What does she mean? Deciding I want clarification, I ask her.

"Oh, you know, we dated. But that was eleven years ago. And I haven't seen him in nine of those years, since he joined the Army. I mean, that's damn near a decade. But then, when you guys told me he wanted to come with you to get me, I have to admit, I was shocked. One, to hear that he worked with you, and two that he'd want to see me, I just questioned the motive, is all. To hear that he's engaged actually makes me feel a little stupid. I didn't want him to come because I, kinda thought, he'd try to attempt some awkward rekindling of our past. And, I really didn't want to deal with that." She confesses to us.

I know how close that rekindling may be. He told us he still loved her. And she said that she still loved him, but to me, it sounds like she doesn't want a future with him. Hopefully Lula doesn't blow Kat's coming to Trenton out of proportion. I think to myself, and then mentally groan. When doesn't Lula blow things out of proportion?

"Yay, we're here!" Kat announces, parking the car and jumping out, before I can ask anything else.

I look over at the store front, and it doesn't look like anything special, but Kat's skipping, yes, actually skipping to the door. It's such a carefree moment. I look over at Bobby and am surprised to find his blank face is nowhere in sight. What I do see makes me a little nervous. He's clearly staring after Kat with appreciation. What the hell is Bobby thinking? We're searching for her rapist, and he's planning on making the moves on her? I'm going to have to have a talk with one of my favorite Merry Men.

"Kat! I didn't know you were coming in!" A large, heavily tattooed man exclaims when we all enter. I watch as she flinches slightly away from him as he barrels his way to a stop in front of her. The man notices the flinch and backs up slightly, giving her a questioning look.

"Hey, Jer, got any openings for me?" She asks, ignoring the look he's giving her. He walks back behind the counter and pulls out a book, looking through it; he looks back up at her.

"Where at and how big?"

"Wrap around on my left ankle. It'll be an awareness ribbon and leaves intertwined." She answers him, and he looks at her thoughtfully.

"Do you have a design drawn up?"

"No, but give me a couple minutes, and I can." Kat reassures.

"You've got five."

Smiling at his response, Kat pulls out a pencil and sketch pad from her bag, and sits down. Choosing a seat next to her, I watch in amazement as she quickly sketches out the design, changing it slightly a couple of times, she finishes in three minutes. I know I'm stunned, and looking at Bobby and Sally, I'm happy to see that they are too.

"Damn, you're talented!" I exclaim.

"Thanks!" She replies, standing up to go give the design to Jer, I gently reach out and touch her arm.

"Can I watch?" She chuckles and nods.

"You all can watch if he has time to do it. Come on." She says, and like a young child, she grabs my hand and drags me up to follow her.

Once up to the counter, Kat hands over her sketch. Jer looks it over closely.

"Colors?"

"The ribbon needs to be teal, and the leaves a dark green or whatever you think will work with teal and the flower, I want it to kinda connect with a foot tattoo I already have."

"Let's see it." He says, moving from behind the counter towards a room. Kat follows him and motions us to do the same.

When we enter the room, I groan. It reminds me of a hospital room, sterile and creepy. Kat jumps up into, what looks like a dentist's chair, kicks off her sandals, and lifts up her skirt slightly, exposing her ankle and barefoot.

Jer stares intently at the tattoo on her foot, and then Kat's design. Nodding, he looks around at the very crowded room.

"OK. I can do this, but there are too many people in here. You see that window. Two of you go out behind it."

Giving Bobby and Sally my best Burg glare, they both reluctantly step out, filling the window frame completely. Jer walks over to it and opens it up, so the glass is gone. Kat looks over at them and then to me, and finally rests her eyes on the tattoo artist.

"Woohoo! Let's do this!" She enthusiastically commands, and Jer obliges her.


	12. Ch 12 - Bobby's POV

**A/N: WARNING! I know I have it written right below with this being Rated M. But in this chapter, they look at the pictures from the report. I detail Kat's injuries. **

**_Disclaimer: All characters that you recognize belong to Janet Evanovich. Couple of OCs will be present in this story._**

**_Rated M, this story will have depictions of sexual violence, physical violence, crude language, and possible smut. If any of this offends you, please avoid this story._**

**_There may be spoilers from the novels 1-18._**

* * *

**Chapter 12**

**October 20, 1350 CST  
**

**Bobby's POV**

It took just over an hour for the artist to finish Kat's tattoo. Watching with Sally, I'm amazed at how she relaxed she was through it. She kept up conversation with us by telling us about her other tattoos and what they mean or why she got them. She actually lifted up her top so we could see the phoenix on her ribs.

Her skin was so soft and creamy looking. It took a lot to focus on the tattoo and not the fact that she had lifted her top up to the bottom of her bra, which was peeking out from where she had lifted the top to. Not OK Brown, focus on what she's showing you and not her chest, you pervert.

Forcing my eyes to focus lower to her ribcage, I looked at the tattoo. Not normally one for them, well, that was until I met Kat, I was shocked to find the tattoo beautiful. It started in the front on her right ribs with most of the body and one wing, but the other wraps around her back. It was in a multitude of oranges, reds and yellows, and the bird looked like it was on fire. Spectacular.

Now, we're back in Kat's car, and I'm watching her lean forward to peel off the bandage Jer had put on to cover the tattoo. I give her a questioning look and am about to lecture her on removing the bandage.

"Health regulations. It doesn't actually need to be covered." She answers me before I can go off on a tangent and begins driving us back to her place.

Five minutes into the drive, I hear Sally snoring in the backseat. Kat grins.

"Yeah, like he didn't get enough sleep…" I grumble.

"Wow, kinda grumpy huh? Did you not get enough sleep?" She jokes with me, and I give her a glare. Seeing it, she chuckles.

"I can manage without a lot of sleep, but with only two hours, the day's starting to get to me." I decide to explain, and she glances in my direction smiling.

"Well, you could take a nap too ya know."

"Ranger would hand me my ass if I fell asleep on the job." I joke, and her smile falters slightly.

"Oh! I didn't think about you being on duty, sorry. You'd rather be resting, huh?" Before I have a chance to correct her, she continues, "You know how Ranger said I'd only be allowed to go out with guards?"

"Yes."

"Do I get to pick the guards? Or are they just assigned to me?"

"Normally, it's a schedule that's written up by someone on the Core Team. But if you're really happy with one of the guys in particular, or if a guy makes you uncomfortable, let me now, and I'll make sure it's shown in the schedule." I tell her.

"Oh OK, so if I'm really comfortable with Steph but not with Cal, for example, you'll assign her on my detail over him?" She theorizes.

"Are you uncomfortable around Cal?"

"Oh, no, he's fine. I haven't actually talked to him much yet, just used him as an example. Really, I've only talked to you for any length of time, even more so than Sally." She admits to me.

"Well, you'll have plenty of time to talk with Sally when we get back to Trenton. I think we forgot to tell you, but so you're at ease, Sally'll be on site. He'll be in my apartment."

"Really? I thought he had his own place?"

"He does, but he thought having him nearby would make you feel more relaxed." I reply sincerely. She glances at me briefly but doesn't say anything for a few minutes.

"You guys don't have to do that, I'll been fine." She mumbles. Reaching over, I place my hand on top of hers. When she doesn't flinch away, I feel my chest slightly puff up at her comfort around me.

"I don't mind and neither does he." I tell her, patting her hand and then reluctantly bringing mine back to my lap. It feels like it's on fire from where it touched her skin.

"You say that now, but when you come back after a long day's work, and you see us monopolizing your TV, or playing games in your living room, just remember you said that you 'don't mind'." She says playfully.

"And just how often should I expect you over?" I ask, my voice huskier than it should be, and Kat looks over at me, tilting her head in question, hearing the change in my voice. Clearing my throat, feigning it being sore, I use all of my control to not blush in embarrassment.

"Hmm, I guess kinda often, if that's OK? When the boys are doing homework, I'll probably come over and hang out, so I'm not bored. They're weird and it has to be silent for them to do their homework. I don't really thrive in silence, so…"

"Well, you're welcome over anytime." I reply, my voice back in its normal range. Thank fuck. Remember Brown, you are not hitting on Kat yet. You are NOT hitting on Kat yet. The smart side of my brain chastises me.

Luckily, we pull up to her house so I don't have to worry about acting inappropriately around her. Once she stops the car, I quickly step, scanning the area. I listen as Kat wakes up Sally and Steph.

"Five more minutes." I hear Steph mumble and Kat walks around to my side to open up Steph's door for her. So much not having to worry about proximity. I think to myself, watching Kat lean into the car and pulling on Steph's arm, getting her out of the car. The three of them walk up to the house in front of me, and I take the moment to surreptitiously glance down at Kat's butt. I can't even see it because of how the skirt lays on her, but I know that it's there, and I feel guilty as hell for staring, for already wanting her a little too unhealthily. What the hell is wrong with me? Hearing a small cough, my eyes jump up, and I see Steph glaring at me, anger flashing in her eyes. I shrug apologetically at her, hoping she thinks I'm checking her out. But, by the narrowing of her eyes, my hopes wither.

When we enter the house, I hear a stampede, as Ezra and Zeke rush their aunt.

"Ooo, can we see it, can we see it? Please can we see it?" They beg, and I hear another voice adding itself to the mix as Lester walks into the room.

"Yeah, let's take a look at this new ink!"

Raising the hem of her skirt slightly, her nephews and Lester sit down on the floor to examine it. Looking around for the others, I see Ranger and Bomber off to the side for some heavy lovesick staring.

The passion that they have towards each other causes a stab of jealousy to strike quickly in my chest. I want that… Thinking about romance brings Kat front and center to my mind and my attention focuses on her completely.

I should not be thinking of her like that. Stealing another glance at her, I watch her show Lester and her nephews the tattoo. They're asking questions, and as sappy as it sounds, hearing her talk is causing a smile to threaten my face. Pushing it back, guilt rips through my body, stronger and more intense than the jealousy previously.

I'm already feeling bad about finding her attractive because of the attack, but she's Tank's ex-girlfriend too and it should put her off limits to me, but I can't seem to help myself. At least I know she's not interested in him, after hearing her and Steph's conversation. So, I just have to be patient while she heals. And then hopefully … what? Make a move on her? Sweep her off her feet and be a suitor? Really Brown, she hasn't given ANY indication that she's even interested in you.

"OK dudes, we need to start packing." Kat begins, causing me to snap out of my internal struggles. They both stare up at her from the floor with Cheshire grins.

"We're done!"

"You're done packing?"

"Yep!"

"How?"

"We took our clothes and put them in boxes you left us. Then, we took our toys and put them in boxes you left us, and then-" Ezra says, but Kat interrupts him.

"OK, I know how to pack, smartass. Rephrase: did you make sure you packed everything you'll need. Remember, we may still be in Jersey in the spring, so you need to make sure you didn't just pack winter stuff."

"Lester helped them." Ranger explains, as he and Steph join us.

"I would've packed you up too, but for some reason, Ranger told me not to." Lester jokes and rolls his eyes. Kat laughs.

"Thank you, Ranger." Kat sighs out in mock relief. Before Lester has a chance to take offense, Kat looks at him. "And thank you for helping the boys. That was so awesome, and you really didn't have to do that." With that, Kat starts to make her way to her bedroom.

"Kat, can I come in while you pack, I want to talk to you about your binder." Ranger begins, and Kat gives him a quizzical look. "I want to go over a couple of the reports, the pictures and your injuries." He explains.

"Is it necessary?"

"I'm sorry?" Ranger replies back, eyebrow raising adding to his question.

"Well, I'm all healed up, so do we have to talk about those?" Before allowing Ranger to answer, Kat turns her attention to her nephews, who are watching the back and forth between the two of them.

"Ezra, Zeke, did you guys pack the photo albums?" Their eyes go wide at that and run off down to the basement, I'm guessing to get those.

"Sorry, they know I got hurt, but not to the extent. I'd really rather not talk about it in front of them." She explains. Ranger, not one to be side tracked motions for her to sit on the couch, where he follows with Steph. Instead of sitting next to them, Kat once again takes the foot rest. The others sit, but I lean up near Cthulhu's tank.

"It may help to talk about it." Steph starts up, but Kat raises her hands to stop her.

"I do talk about it with a shrink. And Bobby gave me a recommendation, so I'll still be talking about it with a shrink in Trenton. I just don't see how it will help you catch him. And, I hate talking to a doctor about it, let alone in a group. So, that's why I asked. Do you need the information on my injuries to find the guy?"

"No, but when we find the recording of the attack, we'll have to watch it for clues." Ranger answers and Kat nods.

"And I get that, but I just don't see how you'll get any clues from the injuries or the reports. It's not like they were taken on location. I was in a hospital. So, all you see are the umm, bruises and umm…and, err, other stuff too…I just don't …I don't want to talk about it."

With that, Kat continues down the hall to her room. I look after her, wanting to follow, but Sally gets up first and heads after. I hear him knock on the door and then silence as he enters her room.

"I want to look over everything with you all, because, you need to see it." Ranger warns, motioning all of us to follow him into her kitchen.

On the island is the binder. He opens it up to the first report, and we circle around the island.

The police report states the basics, most of which we've already gathered from talking with Kat, but when Lester takes a sharp breath with an expletive immediately following, my eyes lock onto his and see that his are brewing with anger.

"What the fuck!"

I rush my eyes back down to the report. And then I see what's caused his fury.

While the cops agree that she was raped, they don't buy the story of it being recorded or that she was forced to watch the other rapes during her abduction. In the report, the officer actually wrote that, 'this sounds too much like a plot in a D movie.'

"I was wondering why she wasn't getting help from the cops instead…now I know." Cal spits out, looking at the report in disgust. Woody's nodding his agreement, and Bomber looks sick.

"How could they not believe her?" Steph whispers, still staring intently down at the report.

"Think about how hard this case is going to be for us with our sources to solve. Now think about a police station, under staffed and underpaid. Maybe it's easier to think that it's a lie." Woody says, attempting to play devil's advocate, but Ranger shakes his head at him.

"Shouldn't matter. As soon as Kat mentioned other women, they should've investigated further. They shouldn't have dismissed her. And had the police done their job, this would've been transferred to the FBI as soon as it was found out that the other women were in different states."

All of us nod our heads in agreement at Ranger. Kat's been living in fear for two months, and if the cops who had 'investigated' her rape had done their jobs, they may have already caught the bastard. But, they didn't. Still shaking my head in disgust at that thought, I watch as Ranger moves to flip the page, but then pauses.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo OoOoOoOoOoOo

"The next pages are graphic. They're pictures of her injuries, as well as a report outlining each one from the hospital…Babe, maybe you should step out?" Stephanie glares at him and squares her shoulders.

"I can handle this." She stubbornly says, and if to prove it, flips the page for us and then quickly gasps in horror.

She's not the only one whose shock is vocalized. The image in front of us is a full body picture of Kat lying on a hospital bed. Her face is bruised and her lips are fat and bloody. One eye is swollen shut. Around her tee-shirt's neckline, there are black ugly bruises, and a large hand mark perfectly imprinted there. Her arms show the same handprints, but in different shades of bruising. The rest of her body is covered with a sheet, so we're unable to see the rest of the damage.

Kat looks so fragile. Attempting to not look at the bruising, I see the terror in her eyes, their pale blue looking gray, and having now met Kat, I see with startling clarity how far she's come in two months. Although yesterday she showed some of her fear, in this picture, there's nothing but terror and tears.

Ranger quickly turns to the next page; and the image there is worse. It's of Kat's torso with a towel covering her breasts. She has multiple dark bruises blotching over the entire area.

"Holy shit…" Steph breathes out, and looks away with tears and mascara running down her face. I know that my blank face is precariously close to dissolving, as I feel my blood beginning to boil at the images I'm seeing. Looking at my friends, I see they all have tension around their mouths and eyes, but I know their anger is simmering below the surface, as well.

The following pages are still of her torso, close up shots of the individual bruises, most seem to be caused by hands. I can tell that the ones across her ribs aren't though. They're darker than the other bruises, almost black and cylindrical in shape. Before turning the page again, Ranger once again pauses.

"The next pages are bad, Babe. If you need to leave, go ahead. You're not weak. This is tough to look at for all of us, but for a woman, I know it's worse." He soothingly says, with his hand now resting on hers.

Steph, tears still rushing from her eyes, starts sobbing loudly, and moves to snuggle into Ranger's side for comfort. He wraps his arms around her and hugs tightly.

"I have to stay."

"Babe."

"No, Ranger. I have to. I'm fine, let's just get this over with. But Kat's right, why do we need to see these?" Steph asks, looking up at him.

"So, we know how bad to make him suffer before we eliminate him." Ranger coldly replies, and Steph stiffens in his arms, but then immediately relaxes, nodding her agreement.

Ranger gives us a couple more moments to collect ourselves, and then he turns to the next image. Before I can stop myself, "This fucker is dead." comes out of my mouth in a harsh whisper. I can feel everyone's eyes on me, but I don't look away from the photograph.

It's of Kat's hips and thighs. The bastard's paw prints are visible in purple and blue on her hips, where he gripped her tightly during the rape. And, although that's making me see red, making me want to kill him, my body begging for that chance as it coils at the thought, it's the marks on her thighs that had caused me to blurt out my response to the image.

On her thighs, close, too close to her where her panty ends, are burns, near perfectly circles, and I know exactly what caused those. The bastard put out cigarettes on her thighs. I can't wait to pull the trigger. But not before I burn him with something. Maybe a cigar or a car lighter. Something bigger, something that will hurt worse.

Still staring at the picture, someone shakes my shoulder, breaking my concentration. It's Lester, and he's trying to talk to me. Finally focusing on him, I see relief in his face.

"Damn man, I know it's bad, but you've got to calm down."

"Brown, can you handle this? Or do you need to step out?" Ranger questions, almost harshly, and I change my focus to him.

"I'm fine."

"Don't lie. You don't look fine."

My blank face isn't up, I realize. Walling up my emotions, I click it into place, masking the rage and hatred I have for this bastard. Ranger gives me a piercing gaze, searching for weakness, but, my blank face holds and he nods slightly at me.

"The other pictures after this are of her legs. They're just bruised for the most part, and I think we've had enough visuals for the day." Ranger states, still focusing his eyes on me. Continuing, he adds, "The next are hospital reports that list out Kat's injuries. I wanted Brown to look them over, but if you're not up to it-"

"I am." I interrupt, and we look over the reports. I try to think of the report as just a patient to make it easier. It doesn't work, because every sentence is bringing those photographs back into my mind.

The bruises on her face were caused by his hands and fists, as were the ones on her neck. Kat explained to the police that he would choke her during the rape or when she didn't answer him. The dark bruises across her ribs were caused by a pipe and it broke two of her ribs. I'm going to kill him. I'm going to kill him. I'm going to kill him. That's now my internal mantra.

Moving on, I read that her left arm had both a dislocated shoulder and a broken wrist caused by being tied up and twisted when he began attacking her backside. I quickly look up and glare at Ranger.

"Why didn't we see the photographs of her back?" I accuse.

"Because it's more bruising, and honestly Brown, I don't think you can handle it anymore. And Steph, no offense Babe, but I know you don't want those visuals either. We've seen enough. Now, keep reading."

So I do. After they catalogued the damage to her top half, the nurse began on her bottom. The burns of course I saw, but the need for vaginal stitches was not visible in the photographs. I cringe when I read that, but I keep myself in check. I'm going to kill him. I remind myself, and I'm instantly more at ease.

I finish around the same time as Lester at reading the report, but we wait for Steph, Cal, and Woody to catch up. Ranger still has his attention on me, but it shifts to Stephanie when she gasps. She must be to the stitches.

She looks up and catches my staring, and she wipes her eyes on the back of her hands.

"Oh my God, what she went through…this bastard needs castrated with a dull rusty knife." Steph coldly states, but her eyes are blazing with anger. We all nod in agreement.

Standing around the island in silence, taking in what we have read, I hear footsteps before Sally makes his way into the kitchen.

"Hey guys." He starts quietly, and I peer over in his direction. Stephanie actually jumps at his voice.

"Kat's done packing and is downstairs with the boys. Just thought you should know." He mentions. Looking down at my watch, I notice that it's 1630.

"Let's get dinner together." Steph says, and we all stare at her in shock. What she says next, shocks me more. "Bobby, you can help."

"Oh no, Bomber, I'm worse than you in the kitchen!" I say, backing away, attempting to get out of the kitchen, and possibly make my way down to the basement. Steph extracts herself from Ranger's arms and puts her hands on her hips.

"I'm not that bad! I just don't like doing it. But I am, and you're helping. End of story."

Lowering my head in defeat, I walk back to her, muttering, "If we all get food poisoning, better blame her, not me." The guys halfheartedly laugh, but the atmosphere is still tense from what we just read and viewed.

Ranger grabs up the binder, closing it, and takes it out of the kitchen. Lester, Cal, Woody and Sally look around, not knowing what to do.

"Shoo, we don't need your help." Steph says, literally pushing them out of the room. Once they're gone, she narrows her eyes at me, and then marches up, stopping in front of me.

"Bobby. We need to talk." She hisses.

I knew she saw who I was really staring at...shit...**  
**


	13. Ch 13 - Stalker and Steph's POV

**A/N: Violence against women at the beginning of this chapter. If you don't want to read it you can bypass the Stalker's POV by CTRL + F and typing in Steph's POV.**

**_Disclaimer: All characters that you recognize belong to Janet Evanovich. Couple of OCs will be present in this story._**

**_Rated M, this story will have depictions of sexual violence, physical violence, crude language, and possible smut. If any of this offends you, please avoid this story._**

**_There may be spoilers from the novels 1-18._**

* * *

**Chapter 13**

**October 20, 2011 1630 CST**

**Stalker's POV**

Clicking the handcuffs firmly in place, I slap the bimbo whimpering in front of me roughly. She almost falls off of the chair, only staying in place because of the handcuffs digging into her wrists.

"Why are you doing this to me?" She screams out, and I slap her again harder this time.

Looking down at her, her face already bruising, I sneer. I hope she sees the disgust in my eyes. I despise this whore, with her fake tits and flaming red hair, she has tease written all over her. Though I know the questions should be starting soon, and she'll submit, like all the others, I want to wait. I want to savor this a little longer. Keep her on edge a little longer.

Once I start the cleansing, she'll beg for me to stop. Beg for me to kill her, and I will…but not tonight. Tonight, I have to wash her of her sins. Later will be the purification, and it will be wonderful. Another whore's soul saved.

But I need to purify that tiny bitch first. I grind my teeth at the thought of the tattooed harlot. When I checked the camera I had set up to watch her house earlier, I saw two black SUVs in her driveway. I watched and watched, and finally that little imp left her home with three others, two men and a woman.

The men were both much taller than the tramp, but the white man was taller and much thinner of the two. The other…a black man, although slightly shorter than the first, was extremely ripped. The woman that was with the tramp was a curly headed woman. Maybe she needs to be cleansed too. Maybe she needs purified.

Slamming my fist into the side of the current bitch's head, punishing her for tattooed whore's company, she slumps forward, and I look at her with revulsion as she cries, tears staining her repulsive face. She's pathetic. But she's not supposed to be here.

It's supposed to be the imp. It needs to be that blasphemer. But, I wasn't able to get back to St. Louis before now. Thank God for His intervention. He told me to check the camera before continuing my drive. If it hadn't been for Him, I would've come during company, and they wouldn't understand.

Now, I'm stuck with a substitute. Normally, I'd finish the purification of the poor soul before the next, but no, that little bitch doesn't understand that I'm healing her. And, so I'm forced, that little bitch is forcing my hand, forcing me to change. Just like a woman. Always taking and changing and manipulating me.

I strike the whore in front of me again, and she sobs out a meaningless plea, begging me to stop. Begging me to let her go. Walking away before I attack her again, I leave the room. I need some control before my task at hand. And I need to check up on the little whore. Maybe her company is gone. Taking off the mask, I fix my hair, using a broken window as a mirror. Plastering a calm expression on my face, I force my body to relax. I look normal.

Grabbing my laptop and cell phone, I slink out of the crumbling building. It's still light enough outside that I have to be careful. Very careful. I can't have anyone seeing me, placing me. If I'm placed, or worse, followed, I could get caught, and then I wouldn't be able to continue this work. And it needs to be continued. Who would clean this world, if not me? Who would rid this world of whores and temptresses and sluts and blasphemers? Who would save their souls?

I quickly move to a beat up pickup truck, making sure to keep myself in the shadows. Removing the duffel bag from the bed of the truck, I quickly change into jeans and a t-shirt. Mental note: get more gloves. Hopping into the pickup, I make my way into the city.

Searching for a place to eat and use the net, I pull into a McDonald's drive thru.

"Welcome to McDonalds, what can I do for ya?" A male voice asks over the intercom with the native twang in his voice. Ordering, I quickly make my way to a spot in the parking lot that is shadowed, and position myself between the McDonalds and another building.

Feeling safe, I open up my laptop and type in an IP address in a browser, connecting to my server. Once connected, I open up a saved document that has a list of places. Looking it over, I tab a new window into the browser and begin searching the destinations.

Where to put her? Somewhere warm and sunny? That little whore doesn't deserve it. It would be easier to find a location in St. Louis or near St. Louis, but since the little bitch's fear is different than the others, her purification is taking longer. I need to find her burial site, and then I need to put the whore to rest. The world is my oyster…Oh yes!…adding ocean to the list, I think it over some more.

Maybe I could take her to the beach and rent a boat. Cleanse her again, and then take her out to sea and bury her there, encased in her tomb. But, she'd die too soon if I did that. She wouldn't be purified completely. Damn, that means no ocean. I cross my newest addition off the list. But, I do like the idea of having her nearby.

Adding my home town to the list, quickly comes to mind, after thinking about cleansing her again. Maybe I will bring her with me to my home. I could bury her nearby and visit her often. Maybe, I could keep her and cleanse her repeatedly. NO, do not be tempted by the whore. Do not destroy your soul due the siren's song.

Feeling added disgust towards the bitch, I move to open up the link to the surveillance on her home. Opening it, I see four men in her front driveway. They're all in black, and they range from different sizes.

Systematically, they begin checking the outside of the house…looking for bugs…I realize. Like I'd be stupid enough to put it on her property. Fucking morons.

Smirking to myself, I watch them move. They're extremely thorough. Two disappear from my view, as they go to the side of the house. Minutes tick by, and then more. Sighing, I'm about to log off, but then I watch as the two men in the front of the house, begin expanding their search to the yard and driveway. Watching in fascination, I watch as the men get closer and closer to where my camera is placed.

And then I realize…no fucking way. That little cunt!

* * *

**Steph's POV**

Mulling over what I'm going to talk to Bobby about, I open up Kat's pantry. Cereal? No. Rice? Possible for a side item. Noodles? Yes! Sauce, please let there be some sauce. Digging through her pantry in a frenzy, I find two jars of sauce. Doing a small dance, I pull out my spoils and place them on the island. Moving to her fridge, I hear Bobby clear his throat behind me.

"Bomber, what's up?"

"We're going to make spaghetti!" I exclaim, avoiding the real reason for a moment, looking in the fridge. Kat has a ton of vegetables, so we can whip up a salad. Opening the freezer portion, I find some frozen garlic bread and premade meatballs. Pulling out these items, I add them to the island.

"Do you really need my help for this?" He asks, his eyes glancing out of the entryway, where's he's leaning, his attention focused on something there.

"No, I want to talk to you, dammit. Now come over here and start putting together the salad." I huff out a command, and he reluctantly moves from the entryway.

Washing his hands, and then the vegetables, he positions himself at the island and begins chopping.

"So, Kat's been really strong about all of this." I start, keeping my attention on him as I toss the garlic bread into the oven. Bobby doesn't make it easy, as he just nods and keeps on working with the salad. Putting the pot of water on the stove, I focus my attention back onto him.

"She's been through hell these past couple of months." I try again, but once again he just nods. Growling, I march over to him and slam my hands onto the island. "Dammit Bobby, start talking!" I exclaim. He looks at me with his blank face firmly in place.

"What do you want me to talk about?" He asks, his voice completely passive.

"Kat!"

"What about Kat?" He asks nonchalantly.

"Don't give me that. I saw you staring. I've been watching you. Staring at her and smiling! First during breakfast. Bobby, I don't know if you realize this, but you don't smile a lot. Or you didn't. But this morning, you were practically glued to Kat's hip, smiling the entire time. Then, when you did have to move away from her to give your seat up, I saw you checking her out." Bobby opens his mouth to interrupt, but now I'm on a roll, so I just put my hands up at him, signaling him to stay quiet.

"No, you can defend yourself later." I start, and continue, "Then you offer her the third floor with you, and I saw you stiffen at my mention of Tank. At first Bobby, I thought it was because of how he treated her. But now, too many things are coming together. You stiffened because you didn't want to hear the conversation, afraid it wasn't going to go well…for you…and then I saw you checking her out coming back from the tattoo parlor. But what really gave you away, Bobby, was your reaction to the photographs. You were enraged. Your damn blank face was completely gone, and you know what I saw? What Ranger and Lester and Cal and Woody all saw? A boyfriend upset by the hell his girlfriend is going through. We saw love and passion and fear for Kat."

Catching my breath, I lower my voice, as it had been rising in octave due to my annoyance with Bobby, and the last part was said a little too loudly. And, while I may be pissed, I don't want to call him out in front of the guys.

"The issue with that though Bobby, is she's not. She's not your girlfriend. Kat's nothing but a job. What's going to happen when we find this guy? Once he's taken care of, she'll be out of your life. Do you really want to pursue her? And come on Bobby, she's, damn, I hate to say it, because it's going to make me sound like a bitch, but she's not your usual type and she's damaged. I've seen you pick up women in bars, and Kat is so far from your normal, it's crazy. And then, you're the one always talking about wanting a family one day. But Kat isn't going to give you that. She can't. So what is this? What are you trying to do? What game are you-"

"That's enough." Bobby growls, silencing me with a glare. Opening my mouth to keep going anyway, he moves closer to me, the salad and dinner forgotten.

"No, you've talked enough Bomber. My turn." He hisses at me, and I actually flinch away from him. Bobby is the laid back, quiet Core member. I never thought I'd hear him like this.

"You asked me some questions, and I'll answer them." He starts, his voice, still harsh, but less now, and I can tell he's reigning in his emotions after watching me flinch from him.

"Kat is a very nice woman. She's friendly, and yes, she's been through a lot. Too much really, but God Bomber, you're right; she's still strong as hell. And I admire the hell out of her for that."

"And yes, normally I go for curvier, taller women, but there's something about Kat. It's in the way she holds herself. After being violated, she still holds her head high. She's still fighting, and that's outstanding. And you know what? She's beautiful, so yes, I've been looking. I am a man after all, but I won't do anything she doesn't want me to, and I sure as hell am not about to put the moves on her the very first day I've met her. Because I can tell you this much, Kat's a woman you treasure, not a woman you fuck."

"Bobby!"

"I'm not done Bomber. You had your turn, now it's mine. You said I could defend myself, and I am…I don't know what this is, what I'm feeling. I will tell you that I feel extremely protective of Kat, and I want her near me. I don't know where to go from here, or what to do from here, or if anything will happen. But if it does, having a family with Kat won't be a challenge. It won't be traditional, but it'll be completely possible. And, I'd be fine with that. But I can tell you one thing for sure. One thing I'm completely positive about, and it's that I sure as hell am not playing a damn game."

With that admission, Bobby quits talking, and I know I'm staring open mouthed at him. After Tank, Bobby is the quietest Core member. To hear him, not only give a long speech, but to do so, so passionately over someone he's only known for twenty-four hours, is shocking.

"You didn't answer something…?" I hesitantly begin, as Bobby begins cutting carrots and adding them to the salad bowl. He looks up at me and raises an eyebrow.

"What are you going to do, once we find him?"

"Bomber, I don't know. I'm not going to pursue her, not yet anyway, maybe not at all."

"Woah! What do you mean? You're already talking about her like you love her, and it's kinda scary, Bobby. But, you're what? Not going to follow your desires?"

"Like you said, it's only been twenty-four hours. I'm going to continue to get to know her, and if something happens, it happens, and I'll be happy. But if not, then…" He trails off, but I keep my eyes on him. And I see it. It's the darkening of his eyes, and it's exactly how Ranger looks at me. Bobby really wants Kat. He finds her sexy and appealing and he wants her.

"What about Tank?" I bring up, and I watch Bobby flinch at the mention of his friend's name. Moving back to the stove, I check on the spaghetti.

"What about him?"

"Well he and Kat were an item-"

"Exactly, they were together. But for the past nine years, they've been strangers. And he's engaged. I'm sorry Bomber, and it may be selfish of me to say, and I'm already feeling guilty about it, but I just don't care. If Kat wants me, I'll go for it. Tank be damned."

I'm about to reply to that, when I hear movement near the entryway, twisting my neck to see. As soon as my eyes land on Ranger, leaning against the wall, he pushes off and stalks towards me. Grabbing me by my waist with one arm, he pulls me to him, running his hand into my hair with the other hand. Kissing me, intensely, I moan and arch my back, pushing myself further into him. Hearing a throat clear, we pull apart. I'm panting, he's smug.

"Babe." He whispers, his breath tickling my ear.

"Ranger." I begin, kissing his neck quickly and then moving away, "What the hell was that for?" I ask.

"Santos wanted me to come check on dinner. He's hungry." He answers, giving the salad an approving look.

"You tell Lester it'll be ready when it's ready!" I snap, and then add by yelling out, "Lester! It'll be ready when it's ready!"

Of course that brings Lester into the kitchen, and he sits on a stool at the island. He stares at me for a long count, and then to Ranger and Bobby. Something flickers behind his eyes, and he looks hard at Bobby.

"So, ladies, what were you talking about?" He inquires, turning his attention to me and giving me his best angelic look. Of course, on him, it ends up being a sly grin and slightly wider eyes. Nothing angelic about that look.

"None of your business. Now go away."

"I don't think so Beautiful. You've been in here way too long and there's no dinner yet. I'll be staying until I get food."

I just roll my eyes at him, and go back to the stove. Once there, I sneak a glance at the time on the microwave. Damn…it's 5:50. Luckily, dinner's been cooking without me, and it's practically done.

"Fine, go ahead and round everyone up. It'll be ready by the time you get back."

Double checking dinner, I realize that it really is ready and looks edible. Yay for being able to do the basics! I proudly think to myself, and I watch as everyone makes their way in. Almost everyone. Kat doesn't walk through with her nephews.

I spy a glance over at Bobby, his eyebrows are knitted together, as he realizes that Kat's not around as well. While the Merry Men are getting their food, I slide up next to Ezra and Zeke.

"Hey guys!"

"Hey Ms. Stephanie." They both reply.

"You guys hungry?"

"Yes!"

"Good! Hope you like it. I'm not much of a cook. Where's your Aunt Kat?" I ask and watch as the two boys look around, as if just now noticing that their aunt isn't around.

"She must still be downstairs."

I'm about to head for the door when Ranger stops me. He has two bowls of salad in his hand.

"I'll get her Babe."

I narrow my eyes at him, unsure as to his motive. He raises the bowls in his hand.

"Trust me." Is all he says, brushing a strand of hair behind my ear, then walking out of the kitchen and down the basement stairs. Damn his ESP comes in handy sometimes.

"Why isn't Kat coming up?" Bobby whispers his question, and I just shrug. Grabbing him by the hand and a plate, I pull him back to where the others are. I watch, smiling when Woody and Sally drag the small kitchen table to the island, so we can all be closer together.

Enjoying the food, I attempt to listen to the conversations around me. The Merry Men are keeping it light, because Ezra and Zeke are sitting with them at the table. It's hilarious to watch the boys carry on conversations with large men, and I can't help but notice how much more mature they seem compared to my own nieces.

Angie, while more mature than Mary Alice or Lisa, seems much less mature than the boys. Angie mimics adults, whereas Ezra and Zeke seem like mini-adults. At seven, they're mature without being snobbish about it. But, I know that the biggest difference between the three isn't the three year age difference, but it's the experiences they've lived so far.

I won't belittle what Angie and Mary Alice have gone through. They're both old enough to know that their dad abandoned them. But he's not dead. He could come back into their lives and they could get to know him, maybe even learn to trust him again, but Ezra and Zeke's dad will never come back. Neither will their mom. They'll never get to know their parents, and all that they have left are their memories. It's caused them to grow up. And it's not fair.

I continue to watch Ezra and Zeke from the island, as they talk animatedly to Cal and Sally. Although I want to listen to that conversation, next to me, I hear Lester whisper to Bobby something that I find much more interesting.

"What the hell did you and Beautiful talk about that took so long?"

"Not now Santos."

"Oh, come on. Was it about how you acted during the photos?" I hear Lester ask and then he hisses out in pain, and I have to hold back my laugh. Clearly, Bobby threw a cheap shot under the table at him.

"I said not now, Santos." Bobby growls at him, and Lester, normally willing to keep on goading, decides smartly, to not test anymore of Bobby's patience. Well, his non-existent patience. Bobby's emotions are probably pretty raw after our talk, and he's wound way too tight to being dealing with Lester.

Before I can try to get Bobby to loosen up, Ezra jumps up, running to the entryway. I turn my head and see Kat and Ranger walking into the kitchen, with their empty bowls in hand. Ezra gives her a quick hug, and then he runs back to the table, jumping right back into a conversation with Sally, Cal, and Woody.

I focus my gaze onto Kat first. She seems better and has a smile ghosting her face. When her eyes meet mine, the ghost of smile widens, and she walks up to me.

"Thanks for cooking!"

"No worries at all! How are you doing?" I question, attempting to gauge her. I notice that Bobby, while still eating, is eavesdropping, waiting for her answer.

Now that I know how he feels about her, it's cute how obvious it really is.

"I'm fine, really," she begins, and then in a lower voice continues, "Sorry about earlier. I didn't mean to freak out so badly, and I did give you guys the binder, knowing everything that was in it…I would just…if you could not mention what you saw and read, that'd be awesome." She says, pleadingly, and Lester, Bobby, and I all nod.

"Can I just say something real quick. A free pass?" I hesitate. She looks thoughtfully at me for a second. Sighing, her smile fades, but she nods, motioning me to talk.

In a voice just above a whisper, I tell her what's on my mind. "I've been kidnapped, stalked, threatened, and tortured. And that's all happening to you right now, but on top of all of that, you've also been hurt worse than I could even imagine, and yet, you're fighting the bastard. You're damn brave Kat. And in my opinion, a role model."

Still looking at me, I see the moment my words sink in to her. Her eyes begin to water and she throws one arm around my neck, hugging me. It's an awkward position, but I put both of my hands over her arm, and give a squeeze, my way of hugging back.

"Thank you." She whispers, letting go and staring around the room taking in new position of her table and the discussions going on.

"Kiddos! Go get your baths. Tomorrow is going to be crazy, so I want you in bed a little earlier tonight." Both boys jump up and take off out of the kitchen.

"God, they're good kids." Sally says, getting up and walking over to us.

"Kat, do you want to go watch some TV?" He continues, and Kat gives him a slightly forced smile, nodding.

"Can we watch the Big Bang Theory? It always makes me feel better, and I could use a little happy pick me up." She confesses.

"The TV show?" Cal interrupts, coming up behind Sally, with Woody tagging along silently, not looking nearly as enthusiastic.

"Yep, yep. We can start on Season 1 if you want. Make it a marathon!" She says, and Cal actually whoops at the thought of it.

"What's it about?" Lester asks, genuinely not knowing.

Kat chuckles, a real smile gracing her face, "Oh Lester, it's about geeks. And it's wonderful. Come on!" Moving to leave the kitchen, Kat causes the three of them to stop short when she turns back to us.

"Bobby, you need to be coming too!" She exclaims, seeing that he's still sitting. I look at him, and he looks a little stunned at her calling him out.

"I was going to clean up…" He starts to say, but Kat just walks back to us, grabbing one of Bobby's hands with both of hers.

"The dishes can wait. Besides, you cooked. I'll clean. Let's just watch a couple of episodes first!"

Nodding in defeat, Bobby allows Kat to drag him out of the room with the others.

Once we're alone, I look back up at Ranger, who's been silent, but with a smirk playing on his lips. Putting my hands on my hips, I stare up at him.

"OK, she's better now. What the hell did you say to her downstairs?"

"Babe."

"Don't Babe me. What did you guys do down there? She was mad and hurt when we wanted to look at the photographs. I can't imagine after three hours, she's just fine about it now. So, what did you do?"

Silencing me with a quick kiss, he looks amused at my frustration. As I'm about to go into rhino mode, moving to get up from the island, Ranger grabs my waist and kissing me deeply, his tongue completely overpowering mine.

I moan into him, and move from my stool onto his lap. I throw everything I have into the kiss, yanking his hair from the leather tie fisting my hands into it. Never one to be completely out of control, Ranger breaks the kiss way before I would have.

Looking up at him, he's staring down at me, his eyes dark with arousal and something else.

"You've already heard the story that I told her Babe. I told her about my past, when I was in a gang. And I told her something similar to what you just said."

"What was that?"

"That she's extremely strong and brave to be fighting this bastard. For not giving up."

"Oh, well that's good Batman. That's very good. So, did it really help?"

"Yeah. I think it was something she needed to hear. I think it helped a little, but you really made it sink in. Proud of you Babe."

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**A/N: Happy Thanksgiving! I will be putting the next Chapter up on Saturday evening/night.**


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